The King of the Saurians
by The Swampian
Summary: Viper is one of few saurians still alive. When threat upon threat come to disturb his attempt at a new Zaterra he only has 2 options, wait for them to come and kill him or rejoin his friends as a defender of Earthrealm. But, he is extremely irritated when he finds that the team sent to get him have a dossier including the one non-saurian that saw his face and knew his true name.
1. A New Friend

_A/N: Hey, thanks for clicking on this story. Mind you, the first few chapters are a little rough, so... I apologize for that. Either way, I hope you can keep on since, if I do say so myself, the story gets better. Enjoy!_

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**2014 A.D.**

"Cassie, I'm not testing you this time." Her father stood in front of her, having caught her outside shortly after her mother had ordered her to Outworld. He had a short-sleeved hoodie and gray-blue shirt, his eyes were blue.

Cassie opened up the dossier to see a picture of a blacked-out figure, he had purple eyes, a red cloak, and a sickeningly white toothy smile, below it was the word Viper. The man's eyes were lizard-like and the black slits were narrow and threatening. Cassie looked further down the dossier and she nearly dropped it. She heard her father pipe up, having guessed what she was gawking at.

"He's proficient in Hung Gar, Pao Chui, and Wushu. He can speak Saurian, English, and Mandarin. His scales give him enhanced durability, he can run at great speeds, and he has invisibility. He also has a prehensile tail and tongue. As well as the ability to generate aci-"

"Stop!" Cassie desperately attempted to hand the dossier back, she was confident but this man seemed a bit out of her league. "Why would you assign me this?!"

"Simple, I thought you could handle it, Cass. Also, Kotal Kahn has hired him for several assassinations. He can help in negotiations."

"The mission with Sub-Zero was a failure! You think I can take on him?!" Despite Cassie's skills, she for once had no belief in her abilities.

"I only saw one mistake Cass" Johnny's gaze turned to Kung Jin. "Viper may be a difficult opponent, but he has weaknesses." Johnny handed Cassie another dossier, but it was one that held Viper's weaknesses. Inside of it included typical reptilian dislikes, until she flipped to the very back of the dossier and saw a name in red print.

"Jade." The name rolled off her tongue.

"I didn't know Jade very well before she died." Cassie's father admitted. "But, she and Viper worked together for a very long time."

"I should use this if he's hostile?" Cassie eyed the small picture of the woman. Upon closer inspection, she found it was a drawing. The woman had long black hair, tied back into a ponytail. Her skin was darker than most other edenians she had encountered. She had tantalizingly green eyes.

"Viper wrote that himself 20 years ago. He's got an academy type establishment for assassins." After her father finished his sentence, Cassie felt an arm pulling on her shoulder. When she turned to see who it was, she saw Jacqui.

"Listen, Cass, if we're going to fight Mileena armed with Shinnok's amulet, we could use some assistance. Not to mention if Kung Jin screws us over again." Jacqui had a slight smile on her face as she said that last part, but Cassie could tell she was serious. Cassie nodded and walked over to her father.

"Alright dad, I'll see what I can do." Cassie started to walk away but Johnny piped up again.

"Remember, you don't necessarily need any of this." He pointed to the dossier of the weaknesses. "He may be friendly, it's just been a while since anyone in Earthrealm has seen him," Cassie remembered the island and a distant image of Havik in her head.

"Be careful Cassie" Johnny gave her all that she needed and then they parted.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"Goddamn it." Viper conjured up an enchanted dagger. He started sprinting, disregarding the ice under his feet, towards his adversary. Whoso happened to be a Frost Dragon. Despite his naturally enhanced speed, the icy breath was nearly freezing his tail.

_"Second one today."_ Viper thought as he closed in on the frost dragon and stabbed it with the dagger. Hearing a roar of pain from the beast, he jumped back.

_"These flat snowfields are all off for an Ice Dragon, you didn't do this on your own initiative… someone had to charm you."_ Viper thought of his target, he was a centaurian named Nikoro. Despite the stereotype that they had no proficiency in magic some centaurians were great shamans, and the target was capable of charming animals to his will.

_"When I find him, it might be better to not just spit acid at him."_ Viper thought as he rose from the corpse from the Frost Dragon. _"Nikoro is a _centaurian_... he may be a bit too fast for just a simple acid pool"_

He readjusted his cloak, considering Viper was a Saurian, he had purposefully been shying away from the Sea of Ice. However, when his scouts had reported back empty-handed, he was sure that Nikoro was either in another realm or somewhere in the Sea of Ice. Luckily, by the time Viper had reached the wretched place, Nikoro had little places left to run. He continued walking thinking, _"The sooner I'm out of this cold the better."_

Viper opened up a small booklet that contained information on his targets. Nikoro's page being the last one in the book, the saurian had memorized most of it but he wanted to make sure he had everything right. The page went on for a while about his feats, but what truly caught Viper's attention was the rolled up wanted poster of him. It showed a face with pale white eyes, looking like those belonging to a blind man, a tan face with wrinkled features and 2 gray-black horns that curved upward in a spiral form. Viper's eyes continued down the page and read the horrible unspeakable crime he committed...

"He stole 3 loaves of bread, and got away with it!?" Viper gasped, and then chuckled. Kotal, or Ko'atal, was a better emperor than the Konqueror, but his justice system was still a bit much. Unfortunately, working for him was a necessity due to his political plans. Feeling a need to create his own type of kingdom, Viper had started his 'academy' to officially claim that Zaterra was his dwelling... not that there were many people there to claim it, to begin with. Kotal enjoyed having all of Outworld unified, but with so much bad blood from the Konquerors' millennia of conquests, it was hard to get everyone under one banner. Viper had a plan though, he was going to gain Kotal's favor and start his own 'kingdom' of Zaterra. If the emperor tried to regain control then Viper would stop his assassination service for him, and Viper knew that he was the best assassin in Ko'atal's army. Of course, the saurian realized that he would technically be a vassal, but a powerful one, as well as one that Ko'atal would need to please.

Before long he saw the ruins of an ancient cryomancer building. Upon entering Viper stopped and saw a centaurian dead center inside the icy structure, his lower half in a resting position, but without much warning, the centaurian turned around.

"I know why you're here, you don't need to kill me." Viper could tell where Nikoro was going, so instead of truly listening he glanced at the centaurian's legs, they were in a position where he could easily charge... but he was trying to negotiate first. _"He's terrified of me, good."_ The saurian placed a hand onto his chin.

"I have gold." Nikoro offered.

"It's a strange thing... if I had a copper for every time a target of mine said that, I'd have enough coppers to match the price on your head in gold." Viper smirked. "It's quite a common offer from a target, but whenever I check their corpses they never seem to have any money."

Nikoro backed off a bit. "I have money." A pouch of gold was shown. Inside, the clinking of money could be heard.

"Good... I can pick it off your corpse." Viper quickly glanced at the materials used to build the ruins and concluded that it was blue ice. Viper smashed his hand into one of the pillars and watched as it collapsed. _"Cryomancers knew what ice to use when building."_ The saurian thought, but he turned himself back to the matter at hand.

_"I could use Nikoro's strength to my advantage."_ Viper thought as he dodged behind another pillar and let Nikoro crash into it. The game of cat and mouse continued as Viper moved back and forth, and broke whatever pillars his target didn't. Eventually, only one pillar was left standing. Viper conjured up some acid and shot it from his mouth at Nikoros' centaurian legs.

_"There… now you can't run."_ Viper then broke the last pillar and sprinted as fast as he could out into the tundra. Soon after he returned to the ruins and lifted the parts of the ceiling.

_"What was he doing here? If I were him I would've looked for a portal to… well, Earthrealm... of course, I can go invisible and he can't but he should've known that hiding from an assassin in service to the Kahn of Outworld is dangerous, especially in Outworld."_ However, Viper found himself unable to keep thinking of Earthrealm, as it brought both sweet and sour memories to his mind. He found, cut, and bagged the head of Nikoro before dashing as fast as he could away from the ruins and found his ship.

The crew was given to Viper by Kotal Kahn, although the Kahn had seemed to pick the meekest crew in Outworld. Every time they saw anything that even vaguely resembled a red cloak, Viper could hear them whimpering.

With his tail dragging in lethargy, Viper stepped onto the ship and went to the area below the deck… he attempted to warm up and heard a small buzzing noise coming from his pocket. He reached in and saw a small projection of Karanba, a young tarkatan that Viper had saved from the streets not all too long ago.

"Master, we have some visitors coming to the gates… they are of Earthrealm."

"Earthrealm… I will be back within the week, let them stay." Viper turned off the small projection and rested in his hunched over position. He had a fairly good idea of who they were once he recalled the group of fighters that were involved with Havik. _"Special Forces, Shirai Ryu, and Shaolin."_ Viper thought.

* * *

The journey to Outworld had been less lengthy than Kung Jin had expected, they landed in a plot of land near Sun Do. The map pointed east, and so the squad moved that way... for 3 hours until they finally found themselves in the Zaterran part of Outworld. However, that was not the end of the journey, they found that they needed to walk even further east. Until they finally found a large building, with a long bridge that connected itself to the cliff that the squad was walking on.

Kung Jin knew that the Zaterran part of Outworld needed to be warmer than Earthrealm, considering mesothermic giant lizard men once walked around it in great numbers. But while Jin was sure it was quite comfortable to a reptilian, it was hot… interminably so. Eventually, a tarkatan walked across the bridge and started talking to the group of young warriors.

"You may enter." His response seemed curt to Kung Jin, but he was glad to get out of the heat. Kung Jin pushed forward and entered before Cassie, Jacqui, and Takeda. Kung Jin instantly felt a sense of relief hit him as he entered the academy. When he looked up he saw architecture that both reminded him of his home, and made him feel as if he was in the exact opposite of China.

"Impressive," Takeda said. He walked next to Kung Jin and stopped. He looked at his friend and asked. "You ok?"

"Yea… I'm fine. This place just looks familiar… but it doesn't feel familiar." Kung Jin touched a pillar, the stone feeling cold in his hand. The parts of the academy, _"or more like castle"_ Kung Jin thought that wasn't stone was a nice red color. Kung Jin could see a library further in and past that he could see a balcony.

Takeda stood his ground next to Kung Jin and waited for Cassie and Jacqui to catch up. When they were all together, Cassie retook her spot at the head of the group.

"Hello, where is Master Viper?" She asked the same tarkatan that had let them into the academy.

"He is coming back to the academy." The man answered. He seemed more intelligent than the typical tarkatan.

"Well, where is he?" Kung Jin piped up. Despite his thoughts on the tarkatan, he wanted to know exactly where Viper was.

"He is coming back from the sea of ice. If you'd like to find a shipmaster willing to go down that far south, and try and find him in a constant snowstorm your welcome to leave the academy at any time." The tarkatan was obviously agitated that Jin had not accepted his answer.

Cassie interrupted the verbal sparring and continued on with the tarkatan. "I'm sorry for my squadmates' behavior, what is your name?"

"Karanba." The tarkatan answered cooly. His yellow eyes were filled with black slits, his large mouth was held open by rows of sharp teeth, multiple light brown spikes stuck out of his similarly colored arms.

"If you need lodging we have rooms further back in the academy." His answers were slightly more amiable when he spoke to Cassie, Kung Jin noticed and stormed off but before long he heard Cassie's voice coming from behind him.

"Jin, what the hell was that?!" Kung Jin turned to meet Cassie's gaze.

"I was trying to get answers." His response was a simple fact, Jin thought.

"Well, you nearly got us kicked out!" Cassie said in an urgent and hushed yell.

"But I didn't!" Jin returned in a slightly louder voice.

"Ok guys, let's find the rooms he was talking about." Jacqui separated the 2 of them with a nervous smile stretched across her face.

Kung Jin watched as the rest of his team walked off, or half the team considering Takeda came running back up and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey Jin, don't you want to find your room?" Takeda asked.

"No… I think I saw a library, I'm going to go there." Kung Jin walked off curtly, but Takeda still didn't leave.

"Then I'll come with you." Takeda jogged up next to Kung Jin.

"Why?" Kung Jin stopped, slightly annoyed. Takeda was a good friend, and he was right about many things, but Cassie has soured any friendly mood Kung Jin could muster.

"Come on Jin, you need friends in this squad… and so far I think I'm your only one. Give them a chance, Cassie's a much better leader than you think." Takeda stopped.

"Alright, Takeda… you've convinced me." Kung Jin looked down forlornly and then continued. "But I'm still going to the library, there are probably books that could help us on our 'quest'." Kung Jin kept walking.

"Well, I'm still going with you." Takeda smiled as he continued along the path with Kung Jin. Before long, Jin could hear the voice of his friend once more. "Y'know, you're as headstrong as your cousin." Jin grinned as he said that.

"It's good to see that you have 20/20 vision, unlike your dad." Takeda feigned offense. Kung Jin knew that if anyone else had said that, Takeda would've fought them no matter where they were. But, Takeda and Jin were good friends, and Takeda soon smiled and entered the library with Kung Jin.

* * *

**A few outworld days later.**

Karanba kept working on his papers. While Viper was absent, Karanba acted as the head of the academy. The papers held different questions about how to best incapacitate, kill, or injure a target as well as how to stay hidden among guards or enemies. But while he was shuffling the stack he heard the gates of the academy open. Like Viper had taught him, Karanba vaulted over the desk of his workplace. The candles had blown out from his sudden movement. The absence of light left his workspace almost completely pitch black. The only source of light being the former Zaterran moon filtering through a very small window. Karanba let his bone blades slide out through his arms. He prepared to get into a dark corner and attack when he saw that the figure in the doorway had a red cloak, a strangely dark figure, and a sickeningly white smile, and 2 glowing amethyst eyes. A description that matched none other than the headmaster of the academy, Viper.

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_A/N: Hey, looks like ya made it through the chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!_


	2. Sleepless Saurian

_A/N: For clarification. When it says Viper has a blacked out figure, it means you cannot see his face. Which raises another question, will I ever reveal what Viper's face looks like? The answer… is yes. If any readers have any further questions, drop me a review or send me a private message and I'll try to get back to you. Thanks!_

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The smile, however, was not as real as Karanba had thought it to be.

Viper walked into the academy and solemnly greeted the tarkatan. "Hello."

"Master Viper." Karanba quickly bowed his head.

Viper turned nonchalantly, and white runes danced to life on his hands. The door to the entrance shut. He turned again towards the tarkatan and simply stared at him. Eventually, the silence needed to be broken.

"Master… why are you back so early? I thought you'd be out still." The bone blades slid back into his arms.

"Nikoro is dead, and Ko'atal has paid me enough gold for more of our political plans." Viper rubbed his eye. Karanba could tell he was stifling a yawn.

"You're tired." The tarkatan said stupidly, he had forgotten that the master ofttimes stayed awake long into the night.

"I'm not ready to sleep. Not yet." Viper gazed at the library, walked into it and pulled out a book. "I have… things to think about." Viper walked over to a small desk and pulled out a brush and ink. He turned to the unfinished pages and continued his writing, Karanba found it strange, most of his books spoke of death but they also had a certain beauty to them. The diagrams that showed weak spots, pressure points, and other information on the many species of Outworld, Vaeternus, Osh-tekk, Chaosrealm and more were detailed and showed much passion and care.

Despite this, Karanba stood unmoving, he wanted Viper to get sleep. He crossed his arms and waited for the master to inevitably ask him why he was not gone. However, it took much longer than he had expected. After what felt like hours of unchanging soundlessness he finally heard the saurian pipe up.

"You want me to sleep. I know." Viper simply looked up at the tarkatan and placed his chin in his hand.

"Master, I know that Outworld can be… uncomfortable sometimes." Karanba had memorized the lessons Viper had given him in saurian biology.

Karanba put the ends of his fingers together and continued. "I still remember your lessons on how Zaterra changed after it was conquered." Karanba paused, he wanted to see if maybe he could use the 'I'm your student' advantage to its fullest potential. It didn't work. "However, you can't just deprive yourself of slee-"

"I've been doing it for 2 decades Karanba, I don't think 1 more night will make any difference." Viper looked back at his small book as if to tell Karanba, 'get lost.'

"Master, I know that you function fine without sleep but could you please just try. For me?" Viper stopped his writing.

"It's just… these political games are exasperating, and…" He stopped himself before continuing. Viper had told Karanba of his past once, but even then it took an Outworld week to get the full story.

"I understand." Karanba walked a bit closer to the desk that Viper sat at. "I would not care if you slept on one of the benches, I just want you to attempt it." Viper stared at the library entrance and got up, he continued walking and sat on the bench there.

"You're a good friend Karanba. I'll try to sleep tonight." He lay down there, instead of walking up the stairs to his chambers.

* * *

Viper's eyes fluttered open. He could feel the bench pressing into his side, he turned himself to look at the ceiling and recalled the frigid and dead land named The Sea of Ice. A strange cold crept up on him, he hated the cold. _"Maybe I could warm myself up?"_ His mind tried to recall anything that could possibly cause passion, happiness, anything that would stop the cold that refused to leave.

"Konqueror… fu-." Before he could finish that sentence Viper stopped himself. _"Thinking of the conqueror may warm me, but it would be the warmth of hatred… and having that warmth often deprives me of the very sleep that would allow Karanba to calm himself."_ Viper knew his slumber did not last long.

He was about to close his eyes and rest when he heard Karanbas' gravelly voice, he sounded bored, maybe even irritated. Viper got up and started on his way to the entrance where he saw a group of Earthrealmers.

"Karanba," Viper said, his hand rubbing the scales around his eye. "I assume these are the Earthrealmers that you told me about?" Viper studied their faces as they turned, the 2 females he could automatically tell were Earthrealmers. The other 2 were a bit more difficult but one of them had technological and futuristic clothing that gave him away. The last one was quite convincing, but his facial structure was a bit different than a typical Outworlders'.

"Master Viper, we were sent by General Blade." Said the blonde woman that Viper knew, not that well, as Cassie. She stopped and Viper was sure she had seen the wanting look on his face. He pressed his back into a wall and waved his hand as if to say, 'continue.'

"My mother wants to know if you will help us." She gestured to herself and the 3 other warriors around her. "While we're here in Outworld."

"Let me see the dossier." Viper held his hand out and continued, "Including the one about my weaknesses." The Earthrealmers had a grim look on their faces as the saurian was reluctantly handed the books.

"Johnny's smart to have sent you with this." Viper handed back the dossier on his abilities, it was only slightly outdated. Noticing the look on the quartets' faces he opened the second dossier. With a skim of the front pages, he saw listed, intense cold, typical reptilian pests, inability to move on, and weapons designed to kill saurians. Of course, one of those things had already slightly ticked him off, but it was a trivial matter compared to what lay on the back page. A prick of rage struck him and wedged itself in between his scales.

"Master Viper-" One of the warriors, Viper didn't care which one, spoke up.

"No." Was Viper's answer. He handed the dossier back and turned to walk away, silently cursing himself for writing in Jade, and his supposed inability of moving on.

He stormed off and entered into a long hallway between the library and the entrance. Instinctually, he walked down it until he reached a staircase, ascending it, he avoided the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, levels and found himself in the highest part of the building. After leaving the tall spiral he walked down an even longer hallway and entered into what he called his chambers.

Walking in he felt a miserable dread take him over, he sat in a large chair and placed his hands onto the desk in front of him. He hunched over in his sluggish state and let his hand support his head for a few minutes before he realized the futility of attempting to stay awake and let his face collide into the desk.

With his scales pressing into the wood, he closed his eyes and nearly felt himself drifting into sleep but once again he found himself awake. Half between sleep and half between wide-awakeness, he settled for thinking of his past, more specifically of the one woman that had caused his sudden decision to storm off. But as he envisioned it, he knew that the only reason he was angry was because he knew that the dossier was right.

* * *

_"I never was into dinosaurs."_ Jacqui thought as she walked after Cassie and Kung Jin, arguing as always, Takeda was silent beside her. Most days he would be jovial enough to talk but it seemed they both were tired of the fighting, or as she heard Takeda call it before: 'lovemaking.'

The tarkatan, Karanba, had offered them the opportunity to say for a short while longer. But, Cassie replied that 'she needed to talk to Kung Jin,' despite it not being his fault.

Jacqui grabbed Takeda's arm and led him aside. "Hey, while they're tearing each other apart I'm going to ask if I can see Master Viper."

Takeda seemed worried as he responded, a gesture that Jacqui appreciated. "Are you sure? He seemed quite irritated after he saw the dossier."

"Yea, he and my father share a dark chapter… as Sub-Zero put it. I'll be fine." Jacqui crossed her arms.

"I can go with you, Master Hasashi was a revenant for a longer time than both of them." Takeda took on a similar position.

"Thanks, Takeda, I think it'd be better though if you stopped Jin and Cassie from actually killing each other," Jacqui said after she turned she continued. "But, if I need help I'll get you?" A playful grin growing as she placed one hand on her waist.

"Of course," Takeda answered with a sincere smile.

She turned and started a slow jog towards the desk of their tarkatan 'friend.' She walked into the large circular room that was known as the entrance to the academy.

"I need to see Master Viper." She plopped her forearm onto the desk, the gauntlets audibly hitting the wood.

"Why?" The tarkatan seemed uninterested, his eyes trained on some papers.

"Because if I don't-" He interrupted her before she could give him a reason.

"Everyone could die? I know."

_"How curt of him."_ Jacqui thought. "Then why can't I-" She continued.

"Who's saying you can't." He raised one of his eyebrows, in a way that made her feel stupid.

"I can… just go see him right now?"

"No actually, unless I were to give you one of these. Of course, I am only supposed to give this to students," he said, holding up a small seal with an amethyst on it. "But what if we said I gave it to you anyway." He looked serious for a second, but then did something she thought incapable for a tarkatan… he winked.

_"I've had enough of Outworld."_ Jacqui grabbed the seal. "Thank you…" she said, still surprised by his actions.

Karanba nodded and pointed out the way to Viper's chambers. Jacqui found herself walking up an uncomfortable amount of stairs, the spirals became disorienting after a while, and she mistakenly stumbled into the wrong area more than once. Until finally she came to the top floor and saw a long hallway with only one door at the end. Jacqui walked up to it and found herself unsure of what to do, _"Should I knock?"_ Jacqui settled for simply calling his name.

"Viper?" She said, unaware of leaving out the title 'Master.'

"Come in." She heard a soft voice, regardless, this was all the initiative she needed.

When she entered, she saw Viper, his face still obstructed by the cloak. He looked up and placed a fist at his cheek.

"Hi." Jacqui started, not at all aware of how she would finish. She stopped and saw a gesture, it said: 'sit down.' She obeyed and put her hands together, waiting for a friendly response from him. She recalled her father, and Mr. Cage saying that even though they had not known him for long, he was quite jovial. But instead, she felt like she was back in high school and the giant lizard man was the principal. He rubbed his eyes, before continuing his stare. After a short while Jacqui felt like bugs were crawling all over her, she shifted and found his gaze still on her. Thinking of nothing else, she spoke.

"I saw what happened down there." He looked unimpressed. "Can I do anything to help you reconsider?" His eyes shifted, but he still seemed unconvinced. Almost vindictively, she started her next sentence, "Why did you write Ja-."

"Don't you say her name." Viper said, his tone was intimidating since it was so calm. But, his hand was pressing into the wood, his claws were about a second from carving a pattern into it.

Jacqui stopped. She put her hands back together and thought of her next sentence very carefully. "You and my father share a dark chapter." Her mind jumped to an image of what Viper looked like as a revenant. A long gray cloak, and chains wrapped around his shadowy arms. He still retained his purple eyes though, for she could not imagine something so brilliantly bioluminescent to be replaced by a different color.

After a long bout of silence, he continued. "We do." He looked down. Then his head shifted back up, in a way that only a lizard could. "I… apologize for the…" he loosened up his claws, "the 'don't you say her name' moment." He brought his elbow off the desk and seemed to be paying more attention to Jacqui.

"It's alright. But seriously, can I do anything to convince you to help us?" She outstretched her hands and leaned forward slightly in her chair. "I mean… other than the fact that you could very well be one of the people that Mileena tries to kill considering-" She stopped herself before delving into the cold pool that was the first Outworld invasion.

"Yes. There is one thing that you could do. Death is… undoubtedly a good reason, but I think there is one thing that would motivate me more. I'm only telling you this because I trust you more than your friends… since you actually came to talk to me." Viper shifted, half uncomfortably, half confidently, in his seat. He crossed his arms and studied her face for a second.

"I know how you feel about that boy." Jacqui was surprised.

"Which boy… and how can you be so sure?" She said quickly before copying the way Viper was postured.

"I can smell it on you. Saurian noses aren't as powerful as an animal's nose is but when someone is feeling a particularly powerful emotion w- I can tell." He hunched his back and let his elbows press into the wood. Jacqui noticed the cut off 'we.' "And I was talking about Kenshi's boy."

"Why bring it up?" Jacqui leaned a bit further back into her seat.

"Because the story I'm about to tell you wouldn't make sense if you didn't know that fact." He smiled.

"Story? Your story, I assume." She left her mouth slightly agape.

"Yes. My story." He put his fingertips together. "And Jade's." He finished sadly.

"Ah… well Viper, I'll be happy to listen. Especially if it means none of us die a horrible death." She smiled a warm smile and gestured for him to go on.

* * *

**988,000 B.M.K.**

…

Viper knew what it meant…

Viper knew what the sound meant…

The tattoo that violently blared in his ears…

The flaming rock that came hurtling at the Royal Zaterran palace…

The thin scarf of red liquid caked on his chest, only 2 inches from his throat…

Most importantly, Viper had a great view as the rest of Zaterra burned.

The dense swamps and marshy jungles set aflame in an invasion. The events leading up to Viper's capture were a blur in his head. He remembered being drenched in blood, his teeth, his claws, and his tail especially. He attempted to calm himself, and in return was rewarded with a mess of a recollection. Another attempt was made, this time at piecing it together.

_"Damn you, Shao Kahn."_ Viper thought, remembering his claws nearly slicing the man's throat. _"Shao Kahn's jugular, it was exposed."_ But before Viper could continue in his self-loathing he heard the booming voice of the Konqueror.

"That is the closest anyone has gotten to killing me… well done." Shao Kahn smiled and wiped the blood leaking from his wound away.

_"You sadistic bedswerver!"_ Viper longed to scream that at Shao Kahn's face, but he knew that the small army pinning him down would knock him unconscious, or worse if he even started that sentence.

"I will offer you a position in my armies, Zaterran." Shao Kahn placed his fists on his waist.

"Why would I join you?" Viper said venomously, a glower on his face.

"I will spare the rest of the Zaterrans if you join me." Shao Kahn extended one of his hands.

"You expect me to believe you. No emperor would spend all these resources for one soldier." Viper struggled against the pile of people on top of him but was still not able to free himself.

"You think I would waste your…" he stopped and felt the claw mark a small bit under his throat. "Skills as a common foot soldier? No. I would have you as an assassin, to kill those who I assign to you faithfully. If you refuse, then you will watch Zaterra burn, and then be imprisoned for however long youzaterrans live."

"I…" Viper stopped. He was unsure of what to do, unsure why he had even tried to kill Shao Kahn in the first place. The only thing he was sure of, was that Shao Kahn's promises were not of wind and air. As he looked at the outstretched hand of the Konqueror thoughts of anger filled his head. He remembered being humiliated, hated for his appearance… his tail, his abnormally colored scales, and eyes. _"That was why I started wearing this cloak."_ He reminded himself. But, another thought forced itself into his mind. _"This is your home. You still love it, even if its inhabitants hated you…"_ Viper paused and felt his captors move to let his hand join Shao Kahn's. _"You will live well over 1 million when you die of old age, don't waste your life."_ The thought finished with flashes of his father, mother, and sister.

"I will join you." He let his hand slink into Shao Kahn's, and he felt the small army of men pinning him down move.

He heard laughter. The deep voice was mischievous and twisted, and when Viper was able to stand, he found himself dwarfed by Shao Kahn. But that was not what bothered him. Instead, he could see that the orange glow in his new master's sclera was not a natural glow, instead, it seemed to be a burning fire from the netherrealm itself.

* * *

_AN: Well, that was a fun chapter to write. :3. Once again, thank you for reading! I have a few ideas for MK11 if the trailers go deep enough into the story. MKX will return in the coming chapters, but for now, the next chapters will be largely focusing on pre-MK9 and MK9 itself. The comics may be briefly covered, they were mentioned in the 1st chapter but I'm not sure I want to delve into them since they contradict the game in some ways. If I do, I'll try my best! Once again, thanks for reading!_


	3. Gazing

_A/N: I have a lot of fun writing these chapters. I tried to write this one quicker than the last one. _

_I hope you enjoy! _

* * *

**500,000 B.M.K.**

Viper felt his head slam into the floor, his tail dragging on the marble as he coughed. _"Am I bleeding from my mouth?" _He thought as he let his hand trail over the area, and when he investigated he saw a green paste-like substance caked onto his hand. He shifted in his new position and could feel a pain erupting near his lungs. In his agony, Viper glanced to his left and could see Reptile. It was not long before a column of gold energy descended upon the green-scaled saurian.

_"Don't hurt him… you… you." _Every bit of his usual snark disappeared as he saw it. The bodies of moroi, 2 saurians, and whoever else was unfortunate enough to walk into the battle.

Even now, in his decrepit position, Viper felt the last traces of Zaterra, slipping through his fingers.

He struggled to his feet, _"I can still save Rep-… Syzoth." _He turned to the vampire and took in every bit of his appearance.

_"Vampire… strigoi race… king of Vaeternus." _Viper's tail helped him regain balance as he finished analyzing his foe, he got ready and bared his teeth, a depraved hiss escaping from the small seams between his fangs.

"Still alive? Good." The man said, his name was now irrelevant, having been replaced by an alias Viper found much more fitting, _"Yaldson." _He sprinted and reprimanded himself for causing more discomfort in his chest, but he smirked at the bloodthirsty satisfaction of the strigoi's metal armor breaking when his claw ripped into it. He made himself invisible and jumped onto a tall pillar in the room, he waited. The battle was not long, he watched the Yaldson's every move, waiting for him to make a mistake. When he saw it, a wrong turn, he pounced from his position and let his claws tear into the adversary, his vision blurred and all he could see was the vague shapes of his jet black arms and innards of the vampire.

"Viper, stop." A voice was added to the sound of mutilation. "Viper, stop!" He could feel a hand pull at his shoulder, Viper reluctantly listened. He knew the voice had to belong to Reptile, and so a half-satisfied, half-disgusted smile broke across his face.

_"I saved Syzoth but… what did I just do?" _He stood and his vision became clearer, he turned away from his most recent 'work of art' and tried desperately to recall his name. All that was left of his once grandiose appearance was an occasional undamaged blue tuft of hair and 2 black wings that were attached to his back.

The 2 remaining saurians stared at each other, then towards the bodies of their compatriots. Drifting towards the door, Viper recalled their true names, barely. _"Pythos and Komodai."_

Once they had reached the courtyard outside of the palace, the sun of Vaeternus could be seen shining on the capital city, and the chaos that ran rampant in it, images of a burning Zaterra forced itself into his mind. Slowly and steadily, an uneasiness grew on his hidden scales. In contrast to the discomfort, suddenly Reptile placed his hand on Viper's shoulder.

"Recent events notwithstanding, are you alright?" Concern flashed in his yellow eyes.

"Do you believe Shao Kahn will let us repopulate Zaterra? Because I do not. Not anymore." Viper stared at his raw hands, the feeling of self-loathing still prevalent. The realization that everything he was fighting for being a lie, smacking him in the face.

They stayed there, watching the destruction slowly engulf another realm, a black and purple portal slowly assimilating Vaeternus.

_"I hate myself." _Viper thought, he knew what he had become. it was only then that he realized the saurians were doomed, no matter if they reclaimed Zaterra. Quietly he walked in the general direction of where his emperor was, feeling that he was to blame for his race's endangerment.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"Why did the smell matter?" Jacqui stated, unsure of why it had not entered into his story yet.

"Good of you to ask, it will come into play right now." He had a vexatious smile on his face as he waved his hand. Jacqui found herself liking the lizard a bit more as he continued. It occurred to her, that maybe this was what he needed. Someone who would listen to his story, and not judge him.

_"I wonder if he ever told the tarkatan downstairs," _she thought as he started the next part of his tale.

* * *

**9507 B.M.K.**

The strangest smell wafted into the throne room.

_"It smells… sweet?" _Viper thought as his tongue hung out and pulled itself back in for a more detailed sense of what it was. He instantly regretted it, the aroma stuck to the roof of his mouth and despite his best efforts, he could not shake it.

_ "Sweet is the wrong word. Fragrant, more like." _Viper coughed and glanced about the room, mostly because he wanted a better look at who was causing the scent. When he had caught who he believed was the culprit, one word burned itself into his mind.

_"Beautiful." _

Alas, the beckoning of Shao Kahn interrupted him from further admiration. Like usual, the Kahn began talking with the peasants, who would receive his 'help.'

_"They're more like to get their heads chopped off than receive true assistance from the Konqueror." _Be it in chains or with smiles on their faces, eventually, everyone had filed out of the room. Everyone except the woman, and Viper.

He used every part of his will to refrain from looking at her, keeping his eyes trained on what seemed to be 'more important.'

_"Why don't we just look at her?" _Viper could hear his inner voice saying.

_"Simple, we've never encountered that smell before, and even if we had we're still-" _The inner voice stopped at the saurian's sudden biting of his own tongue. Viper could feel a small bit of blood welling where his teeth were not 3 seconds ago.

Shao Kahn held out a hand and beckoned the 2 of them closer. As they sauntered closer, his nose filled with the, admittedly nice, but overwhelming smell.

"Jade, he will be your partner." The woman looked over, while Viper simply stared back, no words having been shared. But in his awkward gazing, he was able to make out the features of her face. She had high cheekbones, and with those were a nice amount of gaunt that complimented her sharp chin excellently. Her lips were soft and pillowy. Her hair was as black as ink spilled across a page, but instead of cursing and fetching a new well and paper, he kept staring. His favorite feature though, were her eyes, they were the shape of almonds and they carried a shade of green that reminded him of the swamps in his homelands. It was... nerveracking but strangely calming at the same time to look at her. When she had noticed how long he had been staring, however, she smiled. In response, he looked down faster than he had ever in his life.

_"Jade..." _He mused. _"Now, if I could stop creepily smiling every time I say that name to myself... that would be amazing."_

The surprising knowledge that Shao Kahn was assigning partners was tempered by the fact that it was someone he had never met before, that he did not already want to estrange himself from.

When the emperor left his throne, probably searching for his empress sindel, Viper eagerly stopped to speak with Jade.

"Any idea where he was going? I'd bet it's to find Sindel." He said, bluntly.

"A wise observation." She responded, her hand reached out angled downward.

_"She can't seriously be asking me to... actually... who the hell cares."_

He took her hand into his, all of a sudden feeling quite uncomfortable, he lifted it to his lips and planted a kiss near where her knuckles would be. He had seen people do that, but it was quite a rare gesture and, it was unheard of to ask a saurian, in all their acid-lipped glory, to kiss someone's hand.

"Viper was it? Is that the first time you've been asked to kiss someone's hand?"

"Viper." He confirmed, and then continued. "Considering I'm a saurian, and acid comes out of my mouth? Yes." He cursed himself for reverting back to his sarcastic tendencies.

But, she laughed, and took her hand out of his.

"Then I'm glad I didn't lose my hand."

_"You smell nice." _He said in his mind... glad that he and his uncharacteristic eagerness were on the same page.

"You're outfit," He paused. "It's complimentary..." He realized in that moment that she may not have interpreted what he meant correctly. "To your eyes! It... it brings out your eyes." He paused again, looking at the hints of red eyeshadow. "And the... makeup also helps..." He stopped talking.

"Well, thank you." She said, smirking all the while. "I'll see you soon, hmm?"

"Yes... that would be nice." Viper smiled.

_"Maybe we should just... stick to sarcasm? Hmm, Viper?"_

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

The giant lizard-man had a smile on his face as he described Jade. The slits in his eyes seemed to dilate as he continued on in his story.

_"The drawing in the dossier… he must have made it." _Jacqui thought about how she looked, and she knew that beautiful was one of many nice words one could use to describe her. _"I bet she knew a lot more about him than anyone else." _

Her mind jumped to Takeda and she felt lucky that she could even see him. But, Jade was… not here. Viper though…

"Sorry… kind of a weird question." She interjected, mostly to stop another silence from filling the room. "But… what did Jade smell like?" An awkward expression populated her face. It seemed Viper would've ignored her but, sure enough, he answered.

"If I described it you'd probably not understand. I smelled it better with my tongue, after all. And I'm quite certain humans are incapable of that."

"But… you did smell it with your nose first." Jacqui said, trying to push him.

"Well, yes. But, I can also smell things you can't." He retorted.

"Can you try? To explain it I mean." Viper shrugged.

"She smelled like…"

* * *

**9023 B.M.K.**

"Nightshade?" Jade guessed. She walked toward her partner, holding a small plant.

"Bittersweet nightshade." He said with a cheeky smile. Jade cupped the small flower in her hand, she looked at the purple petals, and the small yellow structure protruding from the center.

"How will this help?" She thought the flower was pretty, but as far as she knew it wasn't poisonous.

"It won't." It was captivating, how cynical he could be sometimes. But, she still had her mind on the task at hand.

"So… how are we going to poison _him_." She dare not say _his_ name, the rat-like face came to her in a contorted image.

"This is just the flower." He said, his hand went further into his satchel, and when it came back out he held many small berries. "This is deadly nightshade."

"I wonder why it's called that." She turned her gaze to his and she could see a smile emerging from the shroud that blocked his face. The glow in his eyes made it seem that the world was losing its color and pouring into his oculi.

He turned away from her, still smiling.

Jade had always thought he was an amusing man, what with his sarcastic remarks and semi-animalistic mannerisms. Such as how during the rare times she saw him eating it would always be an unidentifiable red piece of meat or a bowl of wax worms and insects. And unlike the other members of Shao Kahn's court, she would find him spending most of his time in the library or his chambers, hunched over, reading.

Before excusing herself, however, Jade asked him for a book.

His response: "Yes, of course, my selection is yours."

And hearing this, she selected the one he seemed to favor updating most. As she left his room and began the walk back to her chambers she opened halfway through the book and saw pages dedicated to the different realms. There were ones she had heard of such as Seido and Earthrealm, as well as ones that were unknown to her, and seemingly the majorit of sentient beings, entirely. What interested her most though was a small note at the end of Outworld's section. It read: 'we're far behind.'

The sheer amount of information, and the time he must've needed to have collected it, was quite surprising. As she opened the door to her own chambers she lay on the bed and, considering the only season Outworld seemed to have was summer, rested without any sheets.

While she had checked the most recent pages of the tome, quite frankly, she was curious. Her hands opened the journal to the beginning. She reached a drawing.

It was an interminably lush swamp, filled with trees and lily pads. Among the shallow waters were a few reptilian creatures and in the reflection of the pools they dwelled in, as well as through the tops of the leaves, was what seemed to be a dark magenta moon accompanying the starry night sky. What interested her most about the picture though, was a bright red figure in the distance of the marsh.

_"This must be Zaterra, and that,"_ She pointed at the red blot, _"has got to be Viper."_

It was true, she had never seen the realm. But, descriptions from a certain saurian named Reptile, who may have been slightly under the influence at that time, were enough to confirm her theories.

Moving on, she flipped to a different page. This time, it was a cliff colored black as sable surrounded by a heavy orange sky. The moon, seemingly ever-present, shone in the background.

_"Vaeternus," _Jade mused. She hadn't met many vampires and the ones that she did, Nitara, never seemed interested in making nice with the other members of the court.

Next, was a golden palace surrounded by an equally bright desert. Although in that picture, Viper had, strangely, favored the sun rather than its lunar counterpart.

_"Osh-Tekk," _She continued.

Among the following page was a chartreuse fog with floating islands that hung defiantly in the sky. The ground was a rocky and fluorescent yellow plateau with large expanses of clear water surrounding it. The realm simply had to have been Chaosrealm, the terrain itself was a dead giveaway.

Continuing, there was a landscape of a giant archipelago. On the shores were palm trees, inhabited by hollow hives that would give trypophobes a nightmare. The characteristics made it plain that it was Arnyek. The realm was among many, or at least the annexed ruins of those among the drawings, that she had never been too.

She flipped through more pages and while pictures accompanied them, those realms were unknown to her. All of them except for the last one she came upon. It was one of the warmest drawings and looking at it made her feel some sort of sadness. When her hand went to it she could almost recall a voice that called her name with a strange familiarity.

She stubbornly pushed the thoughts out of her head, and examined the drawing closer. Quite frankly, it was beautiful. The hills were covered in a lush blanket of green, the sky was an endless blue, and the waterfalls flowed forever. The buildings were massive, domed, and complimented the areas of nature around them.

_"Edenia," _Jade thought sadly. She always did have an interest in the realm, but the libraries had limited information. And while it was true she could ask the other members of Shao Kahn's court, she could already tell that Reptile would frantically refuse to speak of the conquests, Kollector would preach the emperor's brilliance, Motaro would revel only in his kills, Baraka would nod and speak of battle strategy, D'vorah would demand isolation, and Kitana, Tanya, and Jade herself were all too young to recall the place. Which, hitherto, left one individual she could've gone to; Rain. However, the edenian prince was too pretentious for her to enjoy dealing with in extended periods of time. And as to the reason she never turned to Viper, she had thought him to be like Reptile.

A knock on the door interrupted any further musings she may have had and through the wood, a muffled voice called out: "Viper said you'd be here." It had to have been Kitana Accordingly, Jade walked to the door and, seeing the friend she had expected, embraced her companion with a hug.

"As I said, I went to see if you were still with Viper. He was hunched over his alchemy set watching the fumes spill out of a vial by the time he answered me."

"Fumes?" Jade asked with a laugh. She had seen Viper concoct poisons, sometimes she helped him, but the process never included spouts of miasma. "He must've become ... distracted." She finished conjuring up an idea of what he was doing.

"My mother, through my father, finally let me out the throne room, and so I came to find you." Ever since they had reached adulthood, or a fraction before maturity for Jade, they had been put through rigorous training. As they sat together at the edge of the bed it became apparent that, due to her time spent with the highest members of Shao Kahn's court, Kitana could gossip with the best of them. Jade wasn't quite listening though. She heard the supposed 'meat' of the whispers but the other parts were ignored. Instead, she was considering showing Kitana the journal.

"Wouldn't you say that it's questionable? Motaro, I mean," She asked.

Jade had finished mulling over showing the journal to Kitana and after answering her, she said: "I'll be right back." Handing the book to Kitana, she pressed her hands into the pages and instructed her to open the one with the drawing of Edenia. Her friend stood from the edge of the mattress and asked: "Is this... our home realm?"

"Yes." Jade answered.

"Did... did you draw this?" Kitana asked in disbelief.

"Well, you know me... I'm a prodigy." Jade joked, and while she did she left a mental note that she would have to ask Viper about this.

"May I... look at the rest of the pictures?" Kitana asked. But, another knock on the door interrupted them. When it was opened, in the doorway stood the very saurian whom the drawings belonged to. In his hand, that was blotted out by an ink-like enchantment, he held a small vial of purple liquid.

"Finished with your poison?" Jade asked playfully.

"Yes." He answered back in the same tone, holding the smile on his face that he had earlier.

"I hope the miasma didn't spread through the hallway," Jade found herself smiling again.

"If I start sleeping, you'll know." When he stood at his full height, the very top of his head was obscured not only by his hood, but also the doorframe.

"Excuse me?" They turned back to Kitana, who seemed to have put away the journal. "I think we're missing the importance of this conversation... how does the poison work?" Viper seemed to laugh at that remark. Behind his blotted out face, he responded: "You needn't worry, all you need know is that it will work... to deadly effect."

* * *

_A/N: Considering the last part talked about height, I just wanted to say that Viper's height was off-handedly mentioned in the first chapter so he is 6'4", maybe a bit taller._

_Anyway, thank you so much for reading! It means a lot to me that there are people who enjoy my story and that they'd take the time to read._

_Sincerely,_

_The Swampian_


	4. Enveloping Inferno

_A/N: Well here we are, the fourth chapter rewritten! (Throws confetti.)_

* * *

**9023 B.M.K.**

"_Interesting, the design of this statue is… unlike anything I've ever seen."_

"What are you doing?" Viper looked up to see Reptile.

"You should get a look at this, see the structure of the face? It's nowhere near outworlder, the style or the features. This jungle must've been home to a species long extinct, or at the very least diversified into moder-" Reptile interrupted him.

"That's interesting and all, but look, back there," He pointed towards the edenians.

"Huh, mosquitoes maybe?" Viper said.

"Slowing them down, you mean? It's likely," Reptile placed his claws at his chin.

"You keep walking, I'll make sure they don't succumb to the mosquitoes," Viper smiled and jogged back to his companions.

"I was wondering where you went," Jade said as she saw him approaching.

"I was admiring a statue."

"That one?" She pointed ahead to the face, that now had a python slithering out if its eye.

"Yes, actually. If only I had my journal, I must've misplaced it," He turned to see Jade paying a strange amount of attention. "You alright?"

"Can we get moving?!" Reptile yelled back at them.

"Wait for Kitana! She's… back there somewhere."

"Not used to jungle mosquitoes?" Viper asked.

"Sindel sees to it that she gets more localized 'work,'" Jade said.

"Well, anyway, mosquitoes are why I'm here," Viper said.

"Mosquitoes?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, they seem to have a penchant for edenian blood, and I'm here to make sure you don't catch malaria."

"Well we better find Kitana then."

"I'm here!" The princess said, slightly worse for wear.

"Good, good," He smiled at Jade and kept pace with them for a while. His instincts told him that their target would want to be away from the densest jungle. Further support of this theory was because of the location of the statue itself, the four of them were on a slightly less lush giant plateau and the jungles below, although only barely explored, showed no signs of buildings even in the most livable areas. They also shouldn't have been animal-like, the statues, even if they were simply pieces of art, they also were humanoid.

When the four of them came across a river, Viper and Reptile offered to scout ahead. The two saurians came across a large building, it was in the same style of the statue, barely any color other than brown, made by or from giant stones, and seemingly built into the only part of the plateau that wasn't flat. It was similar to osh-tekk architecture, although there were clear enough differences to prove that it wasn't, it made sense that the target would've come here. _"Probably felt like home to him," _Viper took a telescope out of the bag and took a closer look. It almost seemed abandoned, with the only signs of life being a few furred guards.

"Get Jade and Kitana, I'll make sure no-one sees us."

"You're certain you'll be fine on your own?"

"Reptile, if you have to ask that question-"

"Just say yes or no!"

"Yes, Reptile."

And with that, Viper was alone. He moved a little closer to the structure and smelled the air, not with his tongue this time, his nose picked up a nervous smell from the guards.

"_Good," _He thought.

He stayed observing the building for a while longer, attempting to make out any sort of enemy, besides the guards he had already seen, they would have to fight.

"Viper," The voice of Reptile cut into the silence like a hot knife.

"Admiring another statue?" Jade's voice followed suit. As he turned, he said: "Why would I need a statue to admire when I have something much fairer to see?" He smiled, although his own conscience hit him again.

"_That was… well it would've been charming if anyone else said it… but unfortunately, you were the one," _So, accordingly, to finish the round of banter, he said: "I'd have thought the insects had gotten to you, it's good to see otherwise."

"Tell us what you found," Kitana prompted, crouching near Viper.

"Murids, only seven of them though," He answered, placing the telescope back into the bag.

"What's a murid?" Kitana asked.

"It makes sense you wouldn't know, they aren't seen outside of Osh-Tekk very often. They're mouse, or in some cases rat-like creatures."

"Murids…" She trailed off, her tone being one of surprise.

"Considering you're with two saurians, it strikes me as odd that murids are such an impossibility," He smiled to let her know that he was joking, but a stern look accommodated her face. The only one who seemed to realize, and laugh at, the remark was Jade. Although, that was enough for him.

"Have you seen any structural weaknesses?" Reptile knelt.

"If windows count, then there are plenty," Jade added, pointing to a few at the front of the building.

"Good start," Viper said, scratching his chin.

"Either way, it seems we'll have to kill the guards at the front," Reptile said.

"Or incapacitate them," Kitana offered.

"It'd probably be better to dispatch them permanently… although incapacitation might be a good idea if we need more information out of any of them," Viper said.

"Kill most of them, keep one or two alive then," Jade said. Viper smiled at her, apparently grinning like an idiot whenever she spoke was an instinct, and responded with: "Yes, that seems reasonable."

"Do we have any information on the guards themselves?" Reptile asked.

"Yes, I picked up their scent. They're nervous, they shouldn't be fighting at full capacity," Viper said.

"We all know what we're doing?" Kitana readied her fans.

"Yes," The other three responded in unison, and with that they prepared to fight.

* * *

**Seconds later…**

Unfortunately, the guards they had chosen to keep alive only spoke their native tongue. So, accordingly, they were given a quick death. Viper let the acid wash off the blood, when the vitriol solidified, he let it drop into the river.

"Viper?" He turned to see Jade.

"Hello," He said, the crooked smile slowing taking form on his face.

"I'd like to speak to you in private," She pulled him aside.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. It was just that I was the one that took your journal," He half expected her to take it out, alas, she didn't.

"Oh. Did you… see anything interesting?"

"I only looked at one part in-depth, but yes. The one with the drawings of the realms."

"Oh," He said. It was strange, he was almost happy that she had seen them.

"I was quite interested by the one on Edenia, I'm not sure you have much expertise in teaching or storytelling but… could you tell me about the realm?"

He stayed silent all the while she talked, his claws fiddling with each other. His tail slowly wagging, the end of it making small ripples in the shallow water.

"Yes!" He answered, suddenly. "It'll be… another reason to survive this mission."

"Great," She smiled, pat him on the shoulder, and then walked off.

"_Why did we agree to that?" _The voice asked him.

_"What do you mean, why? You don't just help people sometimes?"_

"_We've never before."_

_"That's not true!"_ But before he could think of anything else to say Reptile called him over, Viper had no excuse for declining. Well, at least no excuse besides: 'the voices in my head are trying to make fun.'

Reptile scaled the wall, looking into the building to see which entry would be the best to use. He dropped down, and pointed to one at the side of the building. The saurian entered a loping position, and let the edenians grab onto their backs. They climbed up the side and Viper pressed his fingers into glass, spreading his acid across the window. When they crawled in they checked the door for any signs of guards.

"See anyone?" Kitana asked.

"No," Reptile returned from the doorframe.

"This place seems so… empty," Jade said. "It feels, too easy."

"Let's make this quick, then," Viper pulled the small vial of poison out of his bag. "I'd prefer not to engage him in direct combat, but if it comes to that, It's best to finish him quickly."

The target's name was Drimiz. Viper had read the dossier, it listed off his crimes, the worst of which were ones against Shao Kahn's dominion of Outworld. Supposedly, he had brown fur, yellow eyes with no visible irises, and was quite short.

"This is a large bulding, we should split up in pairs to cover more ground," Kitana said.

Viper let the others divvy up the teams. It wasn't that he didn't want to go with Jade, it was just that she was his greatest distraction.

Unfortunately, he was to go with Jade.

* * *

**A few seconds later…**

The saurian was smiling his crooked smile. Not that that was an uncommon thing, every time she seemed to even say hi to him, he grew happier to be in her presence.

Truth be told, she had a fondness for the saurian, but she never did think of him as a potential suitor. Although, having a man that liked you wasn't such a bad thing.

"We'll take downstairs," Jade said.

"Reptile and I'll search here then," Kitana responded.

"When should we meet back here?" Reptile asked.

"Let's keep it simple, an hour," Viper said.

"Right," Jade said. Viper walked over to her, pressed his finger into her shoulder, and cloaked them in a shroud of invisibility.

They journeyed to the front of the building where once again there were no guards. When they inspected the corridor at the end of the foyer, and the rooms that accompanied them, nothing was to be found. The last chamber seemed to be a storage room. And while Jade was about done foraging for clues, Viper seemed to be preoccupied reading a book in the corner.

"What are you doing?" She said.

"Reading notes about the Kuatan Jungle, why?" He looked up, preparing to flip the page.

"Shouldn't we be looking for a certain murid?" She said, walking toward him.

"If you want me to teach you about your homerealm, you need to have some interest in anthropology, Jade," She admitted, there was a strange feeling to asking him for help. He was a good friend, but he always had a guard about him. And while it was true, she had discussed her interests with the others in the court, their unsatisfying answers weren't the only reason she never took the conversation much further.

"What do the stars have to do with Edenia?" She smiled.

"Very funny, Jade," He said, still not moving from his position.

"What's so interesting about that book, no civilization has been in this jungle for years."

"Exactly why it's so interesting! Earlier I was inspecting the statue, the structure of it implied that the people were humanoid. But, apparently whoever wrote this book found the same statues below the plateau."

"So people willingly lived in a dense and inhospitable jungle?" Jade took a seat next to him, deciding that having an interest would help her learn of her homerealm.

"Apparently so. Although if that's true, it could mean that the people were not as humanoid as previously theorized, the statues may have been an ancient societies representations of deities such as the elder gods."

"Interesting," Jade said as she took the book from his hands and flipped the next page, her eyes scanning the information in the tome. She heard him foraging around in the chests again, and after a while of him digging, she saw him place one of the books into his satchel.

"Do you always do that?" She said, seeing him put yet another book in.

"Only if there's something worth taking," He responded, he was serious, but never lost his playful tone.

"Then I'm guessing you'd like to keep this one?" She handed him the book she was holding.

"I was just about to ask," He eagerly took it and stored it in his bag. For a while they kept reading together, and after they had looked through the notes of the Kuatan Jungle one more time, Jade said: "We should get back to Kitana and Reptile, I'd say it's been about an hour anyway," She stood and opened the door.

They began to walk back to the front, having looked at everything downstairs. As they went to meet Kitana and Reptile, Jade saw something much more foreboding. She called Viper over, and when they both had a chance to fully take in their surroundings, it was clear that the building wasn't empty, and something had discovered their friends.

Before them lay Kitana's fan, covered in blood.

"They would've had to have been uncloaked for this to happen," He said, picking the weapon up.

"If we're going to find them," Jade paused, and pointed toward the hallway, trying to push out the thoughts of what might've happened to Kitana.

"We should probably follow the blood," They said, in unison.

* * *

**Seconds later…**

Viper examined the red paste that was caked across the floor. It was hard to determine who the liquid belonged to, no familiar smell was attached to it and due to the color of the blood, Reptile was completely out of the conversation.

After a few more seconds of tasting the air, he decided that the two of them weren't down this hallway. Turning the opposite direction, across the staircase and away from their meeting room, there was another corridor.

"Do you have any idea where they are?" Jade asked.

"One idea… there," He pointed to the other hallway. "This isn't their blood," He said, hoping that that was more of a good sign than a bad one.

"Right then," She said, taking her staff into hand. They sauntered toward the place, their pace a little slower than usual. When they entered the corridor, the saurian couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. The place had no sources of light, and even Viper's eyes were having a little trouble seeing.

From what he could make out, this hallway was much longer. The color was the same though, a sand shade of brown. He tasted the air and, after actively filtering out Jade's scent, he could make out a vague idea of where Reptile was.

"Got anything?" Jade asked, her staff in its true form.

"Yes, but it's faint." He said pointing to a few chambers in the general area of Reptile's scent. She got to one side of a door, and he followed in unison. They were still cloaked in invisibility.

She poked her head into the room and entered to examine if anything was there. After a few minutes she left and shook her head.

This cycle continued, she would enter the room, he would stand guard and make sure Drimiz wasn't sneaking up on them. But, once they had reached the last room, Jade made note of the unusual darkness, even for the already lightless hallway around them. He didn't quite know why, even if there weren't any windows or candles in the room, the darkness shouldn't have blotted out everything.

"What does it look like to you?" She asked.

"Same as what you described. I have an idea, though."

He took something, a derelict experiment of sorts, and lightly threw it at the shroud. Seeing it go straight through, next he stuck out his hand and felt no resistance. He beckoned Jade forward, telling her it was safe. Although, as she walked in with him, she seemed to disappear. Needless to say, he was confused.

"Jade?" He asked, idly into the darkness.

No response.

* * *

**Simultaneously**

She pushed herself back to her feet. It was hard, considering the feeling of weights dragging her down. Once she did, her first instinct was to find Viper, being separated was a bad idea. But, the haze that blacked out the room was too thick for her to see through, and even though she tried to call the saurian's name, she realized that the endeavor was fruitless.

"_Maybe… I just need to-" _She thought about how her sight was largely obscured. _"See this from a different angle," _She closed her eyes, and payed attention to the noise.

…

The silence was almost maddening.

…

It felt as if the noiselessness was crawling up her back, breathing on her neck, priming its tendrils to attack.

…

The weight that had previously held her from moving almost seemed to return, her feet refusing to move in the process.

…

But then… she thought she heard footsteps.

* * *

**Simultaneously**

Calling for Jade was useless, he had started to rely on smell. For a while that too was pointless, although he had started to pick something up. And when she bumped into him, he exclaimed: "Jade!"

"It's… good to see you too," She said, as he placed her back onto the floor. She paused for a moment. "Do you have any idea what this… 'thing' is?"

He paused for a moment, needing to think about the pitch black environment around them.

"It might be some form of magic? A mind trick maybe?" Viper said.

"_Now, we just need to break it,"_ He thought to himself. "We could use magic against magic, I suppose. Although I won't lie to you, my magic is… it leaves something to be desired."

"Right now, anything we could use to get out of this is better than nothing," She said, urging him to start.

He shot out his hand, and… nothing. This went on for quite a while, he would do some gesture and try to generate any sort of magic, and it would only huff a strange noise that progressively sounded more and more like annoyance.

Until finally, a small flame seemed to spark to life in Viper's hand.

"I did it!" He yelled with glee. Jade gave him a pat on the shoulder, and reminded him of why he had summoned the fire in the first place. He let the flames jump to the floor, and when he took control over it it blazed a trail. The shroud disappeared shortly after.

"There!" He heard Jade call, she threw her glaive. It grazed the back of a murid. He turned his gaze to the left and saw his friends, Kitana and Reptile, unconscious and chained.

He loped out the door frame. When he was close to Drimiz, his opponent tried to use some form of magic to attack. But, Viper pounced and kicked the murid straight into Jade's staff. She swung it across Drimiz's face. When he stumbled back into the saurian's grasp, Viper pressed his claws into the murid's throat, and raked them across his neck. The target lay there, experiencing his last few seconds of life.

Viper sat down, his back hunched and his legs crossed. He didn't know why, but the flames made him feel like a child again. He got up from his position and stumbled down the stairs, aimlessly he returned to the storage room where he and Jade sat not half an hour ago. He soon tripped over himself and fell to the floor.

He heard a squeak as he hit the stone, although when he looked around the room no-one was to be seen. When he turned his gaze back to the floor, he saw a hatch, small enough to be effectively hidden, but large enough to be crawled in or out of. As he opened it and looked in, all he could see were more eyes. They belonged to murids and when he fully took in the surroundings, it became clear to him that they were nothing more than children.

The last thing he truly could remember from his time in that black shroud, were two similarly colored glossy eyes. Eyes that summoned a horribly familiar voice telling him to jump into an inferno, envelop himself, and meet reemerge in the inhospitable depths of the Netherrealm.

* * *

**Hours later…**

Jade, needless to say, was a bit worried. Many people would be if they saw a giant lizard man sitting in a hallway, watching an oversized rodent slowly lose his lifeblood. But as they had awoken their friends and started riding back, he had been especially quiet, and the swamp drake he had taken as his mount was always a few paces back than everyone else's. After a few hours of riding, he stopped, and when the rest of them asked what he was doing, his answer was that he wanted to spend more time in the jungle. She followed him and offered to stay with him.

"No," He said, quite curtly.

"Come on, Viper," She said.

"No."

"Why can't I come? You think I'm going to push you off a cliff or something?"

"No, I just… I just need to be alone right now," He said. She paused for a moment, wondering if there was anything she could say to change his mind.

"You can't always be alone, Viper."

"I appreciate your concern, Jade. But…" He trailed off.

"I wouldn't want you to get malaria," She smiled, humor had always been a good way to persuade him in their other dealings.

"Right, because reptiles have never preyed on insects," He said, with such a tone that most people would've left. But Jade, was not most people.

"Oh come on," She went after him, still riding on her mount. He drifted aimlessly, until finally he came upon a clearing. It was still surrounded by jungle, but to have had anything other than a constant humidity in the air was a welcome change. She watched him sit, hunch his back, cross his legs, curl up his tail, and wait.

For a while, that was all he did. Eventually, Jade went to join him.

"Did something happen, with Drimiz?" She asked.

"Not with Drimiz, really," He said as he looked to the heavens.

"You know, you can talk to me," She said as he stuck out his hand, and from the palm, fire ignited. His fingers encased the flame, and when he opened it again, it was gone. He did it, as if it was to be some sort of an explanation.

"What about the fire?" She asked, to her it was just another power to be added to the roster of abilities the inhabitants of Outworld could do.

He sat there, looking toward the growing dark of the sky. The shifting light slowly getting lost in his eyes.

"Whatever you're thinking about, you can tell me," She reaffirmed.

He remained silent. The flames slowly burning out in his hands.

"If you don't want to now, then that's fine. But I want you to remember something."

The flames started to become only a cinder, an ember, among the shadows that seemed to stick to his scales.

"I make a promise, Viper. A promise to never judge you."

He stared at her, a stare that some may have found unsettling or repulsive.

Later, when they had already realized that night was soon upon them. They made a campfire, although this time Viper refused to call upon his abilities. Instead, he took some flint and steel from his bag and ignited the flame.

They sat there, hearing the crackles of the blaze.

* * *

**The next night…**

"_This is a horibble idea," _The voice said.

"_I disagree."_

"_Something's going to go wrong, she'll probably kick us out and then sh-"_

"_Hold your tongue."_

Viper ignored his voice, a process that was easier when he was around Jade. He breathed calmly, trying to shake the feeling of vertigo from his head. He banged on the dragon shaped knockers, and his stomach lurched.

The door opened.

Jade was standing there, a look of surprise on her face. Although her expression soon turned to that of happiness.

"I wasn't expecting you," She said, resting against the doorframe.

"None of the best things are… 'expected,'" He said, although inside he was still silently cursing at himself to shut up.

"So, what brings you here?" She said.

"_You know… what we felt after what she said… is… ineffable. I think we should tell her that," _The voice seemed to finally be giving some actual advice.

"Well, if you're ready to return my journal, I think it was high time we started these… night-lessons," He took a book out of his bag, it had a brown leather cover, with the word 'Edenia' embossed onto the front in golden letters.

"_What are you smiling about?" _His voice said, angry. It was weird to him, how the entity could change its manner in a matter of seconds.

"_I like making her smile."_

"_It's not like that's going to lead anywh-"_

"_Hold your tongue, I need it to talk about Edenia."_

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper pressed his fingers into the heat of the candle. The flames didn't hurt him. His physiology gave him accelerated healing and a high endurance, but even so, he had never felt pain from fire. As his hand moved from the wax, he snapped his fingers and the familiar element sparked to life.

"You have pyrokinesis?" Jacqui said.

"Yes…" He said, remembering the first time his father had taught him.

"Why didn't you ever use it?"

"Who says I didn't?"

"My parents, Cassie's parents," She said. Viper extinguished the flames.

"Fire can be dangerous, sometimes," His mind turned to an uncomfortable memory.

But as he was about to try to explain further, the door swung open. Karanba stood there, he wore black armor made of a decarburized steel that was tied together with red chords. On his gauntlets were an empty hole where his bone blades could be used. And sitting atop his head and shoulders was a red hybrid of a cloak and scarf.

His message was a simple one.

"Master, Mileena is at our gates."

* * *

_A/N: Well… I admit… that may have taken me an unreasonable while to rewrite_


	5. Compassion

_A/N: Alright! Here we are, chapter 5. Just a little trivia, while I'd like to think I'm quite witty in real life but sometimes while I'm writing the quips and remarks I'll be sitting there thinking 'now what would he say?'_

_I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"Get the novices out of here and prepare anyone higher than that rank for battle." Viper turned from Karanba and approached Jacqui. "Ready your friends, I'd wager you four can match Mileena in a battle."

Jacqui ran off and once more Viper was alone. _"Impeccable timing as always, Mileena." _In truth, he never held the disdain his friends had harbored for the former empress of Outworld. Unfortunately, compassion was not the most important thing to him as of now; his students were.

Viper foraged in a chest that lay at a corner of his room, inside he found many things but only 3 would be of use now. He pulled out a Kirehashi blade and unsheathing it he could see it had not lost its edge. One of the other items was a jar of tarkatan essence, the orange liquid would drive the majority of Mileena's army crazy if it was to be used correctly. Lastly, he pulled out a small glass ball containing a black liquid.

The saurian jogged through the hallway that lay between his room and the staircase, he jumped down the empty spiral that was surrounded by the steps and landed to see his students taking up arms.

"Master Viper, we're here." Cassie walked over while cocking her pistol, behind her were Kung Jin, Takeda, and Jacqui. "Any suggestions?" She finished.

"You're the leader of your group aren't you?" Viper gave her a reassuring smile before moving towards the rest of his students.

"_With the exception of the novices, we number two thousand." _The saurian found Karanba among the rest of his students and, dispelling the thoughts in his head, gave him another command.

"Take the archers to the top of the building and then rejoin us down here." The tarkatan nodded and moved out of sight. Unsheathing the Kirehashi, Viper rallied the rest of the students around him. The archers numbered five hundred among them, leaving an army of one thousand and five hundred kombatants to face Mileena.

"_Half of them will hold at the bridge, and the other half can flank the rebels with me." _Viper called one of them to the front: a feline girl whose name was Talula. He separated the assassins into two groups and then turned back to the girl.

"Talula, take this group out to the bridge and 'parlay' with Mileena."

"Very well, Master." She marched away, taking the assassins that were in the front room with her, off to find more.

"The rest of you, come with me." Viper gathered them around him and found the back exit. Most visitors weren't aware another way out existed, but when Cassie found and joined them, an exception was made.

The route led to a dense swamp that lay below the academy. The only way back up was a pass that ran along the rock formations below the building itself. After being lead a safe distance behind their 'visitor's' army, Viper called another student forward, Mukade. This one had the trademark signs of being a Seidan: white hair that was tied into a knot at the back of his head, pale eyes that were naturally occurring, and an olive complexion. Either way, he received the orders to wait for a sign and then to ambush Mileena whether she tried to escape or stand and fight.

One of the items he had pulled out of the chest would be useful now. The small glass ball containing what appeared to be oil was actually a device that would allow for a shadowy, and quite frankly, limited teleport. Crushing it in his hand, Viper found himself near the roof of his building and near Karanba himself.

"Salutations." He said as a quick greeting towards his tarkatan ally.

"Master, the archers are ready for your signal." Viper nodded swiftly before readying an amethyst seal in his hand. Walking over to the edge of the roof, he dropped it, the purple sparkle of the gem quickly spread across the broad bridge. In the place of the seal was a paint like substance colored a dark orchid.

Tarkatans started dropping within three seconds of the sign, accompanying the ambush, arrows started raining into the general cluster of fighting.

Viper jumped down onto the bridge and began to battle the enemies that were foolish enough to face him.

"_Where is Mileena?" _It was odd, the former khanum of Outworld was bloodthirsty. She should've been there but in her stead, a ball of yellow flame.

"_Tanya." _Viper, dodged to the side and prepared for another attack but instead the yellow-clad woman walked up to him with another familiar face.

"_Oh… and Rain," _he thought, "_Is everyone but Mileena here?" _

Tanya was short, with glowing orange tattoos on her arms and mid-section. The most interesting part of her appearance though was her pale and seemingly lifeless eyes. Rain was by far the better-looking of the two; he was not nearly as tall as Viper himself, but he was of a good height. His skin was somewhat of a copper tone, and his eyes were a frightening but beautiful shade of brown.

"Stand down, Viper." Tanya spoke, she stepped over the bodies of the enemies surrounding them.

"Honored that you decided to 'grace' me with your presence, Tanya." Viper expected a sly response from her, as per usual.

"As am I, for your remembrance." Tanya mocked a bow before looking up at him quickly, her sickly eyes were nearly unbearable.

He stayed silent for a moment but soon knew what to say to throw at least one of them off. "It would seem that when it comes to consorts Tanya, you've forgotten how to count."

"How dare you speak to us that way!" Rain screamed as lightning sparked onto his forearms, but this was exactly what the saurian had wanted.

"I will teach you the humility afforded with your defo-" as the demigod continued in his declaration he failed to notice Viper drawing the tarkatan essence and throwing it at him. As the bottle broke against 'his excellency,' the saurian's attention turned, and in the next moments he grabbed the nape of Tanya's neck and smashed her face into the side wall of the bridge.

When Viper braced for what Rain had in store for him. He found that the demigod had teleported himself away, which was probably for the best; if he had stayed his own allies would've made a feast of him.

Tanya however, was not finished. Her naginata swung near Viper's face and when she had regained her composure, she threw another fireball at him. The saurian swiped his hands against the flames, and as soon as he had, they dissipated.

Tanya and he became locked in hand-to-hand combat after she sheathed her naginata. It was true, as his dossier stated: he knew earthrealmer martial arts. However, Viper preferred to use something unique to him: a fighting style that, because of the increased dexterity afforded by his tail, not even his dear friend Reptile knew how to use.

He began to bounce from one side of the bridge to the other, sparsely using his acid as part of his quick scratches against her un-armored body. After a few moments of claw strikes he slammed his tail into her face and sent her flying, but not before she had managed to make a small piercing in his scales with her kobu jutsu.

He was about to rush toward her and make sure she was really unable to continue fighting, but a mass of what seemed to be writhing bats the color of wine appeared before him. The swarm unwrapped itself like wings and revealed what was inside of them.

"Nitara… I didn't expect to ever see you again." She had baggy maroon sleeves while the rest of her outfit consisted of sparse parts of black leather studded with what seemed to be gold. Her hair was black streaked with gray, and she had skin similar to the color of most others that dwelled in Outworld. While he had noted the color of many people's eyes, whether he thought them to be beautiful or ugly, Nitara's were a part of a list that may have been titled 'spell-binding.' The sclera were black and in the place of irises were red rings, resembling the halo of an eclipse.

"And why is that, Viper?" She started, her voice near indifferent.  
"Because I thought you better than to involve yourself in these foolish affairs. I thought you better than I."

"Mileena promised to make Vaeternus free once more… something Kotal refused to even attempt." Nitara's hands encompassed themselves in the same energy she had used to make her entrance. "Join us and Zaterra will be free as well."

"She speaks lies… no realm can ever be unmerged from Outworld."

Nitara laughed, "I would've expected you to hate Kotal… after what he did." Viper kept his cool although admittedly, the urge to suddenly jump onto the vampire and rip her to shreds had increased significantly.

And so he did, but not before speaking one last remark, "I don't hate Ko'atal, it'd be a waste of my energy."

Viper pressed his claws into a small section of Nitara's back, and feeling the bones and flesh shift he knew he had aimed correctly. Suddenly, her wings expanded and her neck was restrained by his scaly tail.

"_Let's find out just how well you can fly…" _Viper forced her to take off into the academy. In retaliation, her claws came swiping at his body but most of the time she completely missed the one vulnerable spot that Tanya had provided for her.

Most of the time.

Right as she was about to slam into a wall, her hands found the small wound and her claws pulled at the grooves between the surrounding scales.

Viper propelled himself off of her and, in the action of doing so, managed to send her into the red side of the entrance room.

He landed next to Nitara, and as she got up it was clear from her mannerisms that she had been hurt. They prepared for battle, she took out her kama, and Viper unsheathed his kirehashi. When their weapons connected, she unhooked one of them and tried to lodge the sickle's end into his wound. Instead, he dodged and sent his foot toward her stomach, his claws raking against her skin as he kicked himself off of her once more.

She went flying into the wall again, only this time her wings were folded. The idea of pouncing onto her and making sure she was incapacitated crossed his mind, but Viper knew that if the entrance of the academy stayed open for much longer Milenna's forces would enter. So he sprinted out and prepared to fend off any invaders that had wandered to close, but instead he was greeted by a burst of water and a dropkick from a demi-god in an annoyingly royal shade of purple.

"_Great… Rain has returned." _Viper thought as he bounced back to his standing position.

"Did the tarkatan essence wash off easy enough?" Rain's face, despite the gold brimmed mask he wore, was a storm as he answered.

"It washed off easier than your blood will." Rain enveloped Viper in a bubble, and for a few seconds the water was an effective trap. But the saurian refused to die, and as a way to escape, he filtered his acid into the water quicker than his adversary could react, eventually taking control of it. Bursting himself out of the encasing, he landed and fired vitriol out of his palms in sustained plumes, while in an attempt to protect himself his enemy had thrown his arms up.

Once Viper was finished he knew it was foolish to rely on the acid too much, Rain was a demi-god and a powerful one at that; not only could he control water and lightning but virtually all liquids. Not to mention that after being subjected to an intense blast of corrosive fluid that would've melted off anyone else's arms, his only seemed to be steaming from the burn.

Not a second later Viper dodged past two large streams and subsequently avoided another attempt to encase him in a bubble. Seeing an opening, the saurian swiftly closed the rest of the distance between them and sent his fist into Rain's mid-section before giving another into his nose. Right after the second strike Viper performed another, this time his foot, went to the cheek of the edenian prince, and shortly afterward his tail slammed into the same place.

Rain attempted to retaliate: his palm strike barely missing. Viper, not being one to let an opening go, sank his teeth into the flesh presented to him. They struggled for a minute before a hydro-powered kick bashed into the saurian's jaw and sent him further along the bridge.

He used his position to his advantage, however, and made a ring of acid from the scaly pads of his feet, kicking it towards Rain. His attack, as expected, had been taken control of, but the saurian solidified the liquid, which made the prince lose control as quickly as he had taken it. After some minor confusion, Viper jumped into the air. When he landed, nearly on top of his target, he clawed and bit at him in a frenzy. Rain had fallen, although it was not without a storm of his own.

"When it comes to godhood and pretention, you are quite pretentious Rain." He said in a final remark towards the edenian prince.

A few moments of ragged and inconsistent breathing followed.

"_Ok… good… now… to find Mileena."_

* * *

"Get away from him!" Karanba unsheathed his blades and came closer to the threat at the top of the tower.

Mileena had no response. The archers had their bows primed, but they weren't about to fire, not while her mouth drew ever closer to a student's neck. Karanba knew him: his name was Mukade, and he had joined the archers after the beginnings of the battle started.

Unfortunately, getting to his friend was easier said than done. Kollector, one of the naknada had his khanum protected. Their eyes were nearly the same color, orange and bright.

"_What would Viper do?" _Karanba mused. _"Well… Kollector… he's a naknada, probably used to people using him to make fun." _

If he was to distract them, it would have to be Mileena. Unless…

"Is he a part of your harem too? Like Reiko was?" Karanba smiled, letting his tongue hang out mockingly. It was possible that the only lover that Mileena had ever cared for was the former general.

"I will dull your tongue." There was venom in Mileena's voice, despite her mostly calm tone. Her companion however, as expected, seemed to have gotten used to hatred in his lifetime.

With that, it seemed an opportunity had giftwrapped itself for him.

"I was just wondering since… I had heard you loved it when people used your title, Mileena Khanum." Karanba stifled a laugh, but he knew, from Viper's constant reminders, he had to be cautious with how far he pushed people.

"You are unappreciative of the fortune you have been given." Kollector finally spoke, his 6 arms all came out now, in each of his hands was a weapon, 1 of which was a sphere of gold and 5 of which were an assortment of blades.

"None of you have experienced cold and hunger."

All of a sudden Mileena went flying from Mukade's side, and in her stead Viper became visible once more.

"Unfortunately Kollector, you are incorrect." Viper threw up his hands and arrows went flying, before the naknada could be hit he teleported, and Mileena had done the same. Their master, who had begun carrying Mukade, had jumped away from the line of fire. However, soon enough, a pink blast of energy grabbed hold of Viper and sent him off into the unknown.

"No!" Karanba yelled. He tried to run towards the blast, but the last thing that he saw was the body of his seidan friend being thrown back onto the roof before Viper had disappeared.

* * *

The Kollector's 6 weapons came flying at his face. Viper, in response, dodged back and forth before he swept the naknada's leg. Once he accomplished that, he spat out a stream of vitriol.

His target teleported once more; however, despite their speed, teleporters were quite predictable. He turned and sent his claw swiping at the blue-skinned creature behind him. Squaring off, the naknada shot his sphere at him. Viper caught it, and when the chain recoiled to its original position, the Kollector was sent barreling across the distance between them.

When he landed under the saurian's feet, he attempted to slash and stab his way out. If any wounds were made; however, they weren't substantial enough for Viper to stop his talons from slamming onto Kollector's face.

Once he had defeated his opponent, another thought occurred to him._"Mileena's disappeared once more."_

Viper, finally having an opportunity, looked around and noticed he was under the bridge to the academy.

"_Shame to have to fight here… this place is so beautiful." _His mind walked out of the memories he was about to travel back to.

"_She must've teleported again." _Viper regained his previous train of through as he placed his hands onto the rock that lead back up and, after sighing in annoyance, started scaling them. As he reached the top; however, a heel pressed onto his hands, the soles twisting at an agonizingly slow pace.

"You were always conducting too many experiments for your own benefit." The voice belonged to Mileena. "Now for your final endeavor, I will test if you can survive a drop o-"

Viper pulled onto her other leg, and they fell together.

"You always talked too much." Viper knew that if Mileena was to survive this, she had to teleport, and if she did that, then she would also port him to safety.

As expected, she did.

When they next emerged from the pink form of energy, they were further in the swamps.

Before anything could be said, Mileena threw her sais but in retaliation he caught one in his hand, and the other in his tail before pouncing and practically flying right at her. She dodged his attack and retaliated by kicking him in his stomach. She then made 2 knives of her hands and slammed them into the top of his head. He avoided the next parts of her furious onslaught and sent a claw up her mid-section. She recoiled and they separated. Her sais, which had been enchanted, reappeared on her back.

"Mileena, I won't mock you as I did your compatriots." Viper steadied himself, his talons resting in the shallow waters.

"You are like-minded with Kotal… always conniving your way to power." She sneered, her voice laced with venom.

"No Mileena, Ko'atal and I are nothing alike."

"Lies and deception, lizard!" She cried vindictively.

"_Maybe… I was wrong earlier in my chambers."_ He thought of the next thing he could say, and his mind traveled to a story.

He started, "Recently I've been reminded what it's like to be feared and put down, Mileena. It's a horrible experience, and I do not wish the same upon you." He put his hands down, his claws relaxing.

"You're in service to the pretender! You're a liar, just like he is!" She hurried him.

"… Once, Kotal asked me to find and assassinate you." He pressed a hand into his face. "I knew exactly where you were… and yet… even when the woman I loved hated you so, I found myself unable to kill you." It was true: some part deep inside of him held disdain for her, but another part felt pain when the thought of killing her emerged.

There was silence for a few seconds, and he almost saw something in her eyes.

…

Almost.

"You… killed my father!" After the moments had passed, she screamed, her mouth unhinging itself as she threw a sai at him. He moved out of the way and while she attempted to bite him, he showed her that his teeth were sharper. His fangs lodged themselves into her shoulder. If they had been any closer to her subclavian, she may have bled to death. When he removed his mouth from her gaping wound, he placed his hand there and let acid bubble into the exposed cavity.

She wailed out in pain and started a flurry of attacks in an attempt to get him off. It was only after Viper was sure that any longer exposure would've resulted in death that he let go.

He saw her reach for her sai, obviously her intent was to teleport, and in that moment he tackled her so that their destination would be the same place.

They hit the hard ground near the academy together, and before either of them could get up, Viper barreled his fist toward her face. She retaliated by attempting to push her hand into his eyes, but she had learned from last time and her fingers did not dare dangle near his teeth.

Viper's mouth held more than just teeth, and as if to prove it, his tongue shout out and wrapped around her face. In an attempt to free herself, she pulled at the saliva-covered appendage and using her black nails, which had been filed to claws, tried to rip herself from his grasp. Once she released her hand from his face, he let her head go from his hold and instead tackled her again.

The back of her head had been dazed from slamming into ground, and seeing yet another opening, he returned to his clawing methods. Unfortunately, her confusion didn't last long, she balled up her body and sent herself flying at him, being propelled by the energy given to her by the sais. After he collapsed onto the ground, she stood again and attempted to run. But Viper, even while on the ground, proved he was faster.

Using his speed, he managed to get in front of her and, after jumping above an attempted sweep of the leg from her, he sent his foot at a near breakneck pace toward her face. The last thing he saw of her before she slammed into the ground was her eyes, so similar to her 'father's'.

"You've lost, Mileena." Viper stood above her.

"No…" she paused, a wheezing breath passing through her clenched teeth, "You have." She lifted her hand and channeled the power of Shinnok's amulet.

For any chance of survival, Viper propelled himself back. After an exhilarating experience, despite its length being only 4 seconds, she fell one last time.

Burn wounds plagued her arms, and before her collapse, she sounded desperate and exhausted.

He attempted to apprehend her. However, Rain appeared out of a jumping spout of water with Nitara and Tanya flanking his sides.

The two women that accompanied the edenian prince sent two waves of energy at Viper. Viper instinctively used his acid to form a rudimentary shield. When the energy ceased, he realized that all of them were gone.

"_All of them… except for Kollector."_ He thought grimly.

* * *

**Simultaneously, Z'Unkahrah**

D'vorah rose from the bed. She looked back at the soft velvet duvet, and lying upon it was none other than Kotal Kahn.

"This One didn't mean to wake the emperor." She felt her ovipositors twitch as she spoke to him. There was a time when she truly admired Kotal, and she could tell that he felt the same way for her. But his mind was distracted and D'vorah knew exactly what plagued it.

"You didn't. It is only…" He trailed off.

"Yes, Kotal." She prompted, although in truth she was not listening. She walked to an open window and gazing through it, she observed the statue of Shao Kahn being torn down.

"_Onaga, Shao, and soon… Kotal." _She mused.

"This has been… nice." Kotal said.

"This One would not have doubted it." Carnal relations were important to many, and the emperor of Outworld was among those who valued them, but what truly enticed D'vorah was power. The cavity in her stomach opened, and she pulled one of her 'children' out of it, her hand running down the creature as she thought.

Quite frankly, it was idiotic to assume a Kytinn would put someone over the hive's survival. Even someone like Kotal.

"_Although, most in Outworld are imbeciles." _She silently reminded herself.

"I have enjoyed your company D'vorah." Kotal's speech was sincere, she could tell.

"And I have enjoyed yours." She spoke to him without turning.

It was almost alluring, the thought of flying down to the statue even in her current unclothed state to see the monument break from close range. While she mused, she could hear the creak of the mattress behind her. Kotal placed his hand at the small of her back and as he did she forced a smile.

The idol broke as they watched together, the expert stonework crumbling as it hit the courtyard's tiled floor.

"Would you like to see it." Kotal asked her. He was completely naked like she was.

"Yes." That thought, completely satisfied her, unlike the events that had transpired not long ago in the very bedroom she stood in.

After they had both clothed themselves and walked out into the courtyard, she ran her hand over the stone. The sharp nails on her fingers found the cracks in the konqueror's earthen mask.

"_This One's plan will soon come to fruition." _She looked up and not far away, she saw Kotal, unaware that he would soon meet a similar fate.

* * *

_A/N: Well, this has been one of my favorite chapters to write. Now, I will continue writing chapter 6, but before I finish and post it, I'm considering doing some edits to chapter 3 and 4. Now, it's not that I dislike them… but I wanted to do that for 2 main reasons._

_1: Jade, I'm not unhappy with how I wrote her but I think in order to capture what I really think she'd be like, I feel like I need to redo that part._

_2: The dialogue, I admit, this has always been one of the weakest parts of my writing. But not just that, I remember while I was writing the dialogue all I could think was 'this would be much easier to read with apostrophes' and I think I need to add that to make the sentences more reasonable and real sounding._

_But either way, I thank you for reading, as it really helps me push through the more difficult moments of writing._

_Sincerely, The Swampian._


	6. It Means Home

_A/N: Good news everyone! Chapter 3, has been successfully edited! Chapter 4… we don't talk about chapter 4._

_But, jokes aside, (chapter 3 is seriously edited though) this was one of my favorite chapters to write._

* * *

**11 A.M.K.**

Karanba could hear them talking. Their tongue alien to him, their voices were… higher than he would've expected too.

But, he needed coin. So whenever one of them passed he would call out to them in tarkatan, but never would he hear a response.

The worst of his tormentors were his kinsman. He couldn't recall his mother and father, whenever he tried all he could hear was their disapproving voices.

He turned his gaze upward once more, and couldn't understand anything.

"_Drivel, Karanba… it's all drivel." _He placed his face into his arms and basked into the warm Outworld sun of Z'Unkarah.

Until it rose to an uncomfortable heat, slowly crawled to an infernal temperature, and then finally became absolutely unbearable.

And then it became a burning red cloak.

He turned his attention to the indistinct and shrouded body, before long he could see the eyes.

"_Fiery." _He thought.

"Here, this should get you through a few days." The man's tarkatan was fluent, and it had only the slightest hint of an accent. Next, he dropped a pouch of gold and just as abruptly, walked away.

"Wait!" Karanba scrambled to his feet and chased the man.

The man, in turn, stopped. He had an imposing body, nearly a foot and a half taller than Karanba himself.

"Yes?" The man spoke.

"I…" Karanba stopped, having no idea what he could say.

"_May I live with you? I can be helpful, I promise!" _Finished with his thoughts, he started retreating. Feeling utterly defeated in his attempts before truly starting.

"Hold." Karanba did as the voice said. It continued. "Have you nowhere to sleep?"

"No, sir." He responded.

"How long have you been here?" The man probed.

"I… since my birth. I will have seen my twelfth summer in some weeks." Karanba answered sincerely.

"Where are your parents?" The question made him tense. The man surely wouldn't have anything to do with him if he knew of his rejection as a child.

"Never mind that." He flicked his hand and sauntered towards Karanba.

"But-"

"I can tell where they are, you can see much of someone by their mannerisms." He paused. "And you grew as tense as a foot soldier in battle."

"Where did yo-"

"I, am called Viper." He interrupted.

"Viper..." Karanba continued his sentence in his thoughts: _"Where have I heard that name before?"_

"Sometimes, the blue-painted fool of an emperor will hire me and call me his friend." He spoke, a toothy smile emerging from the indistinct face.

Karanba laughed at the remark, and after a moment, continued in the alien feeling of joy.

"What is your name?" Viper asked.

"Karanba."

"Well, Karanba. How would you like to stay with me and learn my arts?"

"But… I am…" His mind drifted towards what was often considered the peak condition of a male tarkatan, tall and muscular with sharp gnashing teeth and long bone blades. "I would only be a liability."

"My mother said the same of me." Their eyes met. "I've seen juvenile tarkatans aplenty, you don't have to be like them, you know."

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper could feel the wound on his torso slowly start to heal. The feeling of his scales shifting back into position was strangely similar to the sensation of shedding.

As he waded through the shallow waters of the swamp below the academy he grabbed Kollector by the neck and dragged him back up the cliff path.

When Viper made it back up to the bridge he felt arms suddenly thrown around him.

"Karanba." He greeted, placing his hand at the shoulder blade of his ward.

"I was so worried!" They parted, the tarkatan with a giddy glint in his glowing yellow eye.

"You would've expected any less from me?" Viper pointed toward the, somehow still unconscious, naknadan in his grasp.

"No, it's only… I don't know what would've happened to me if I hadn't met you." He had heard something akin to that once before, but never from Karanba. Viper wasn't sure what to say, at that moment he almost laughed, although he stopped himself. Instead, quite awkwardly to be completely honest, the saurian walked away frequently looking back and letting the tiniest bit of chuckles be heard.

As he entered into his home and passed through the entrance where some of the students were congratulating each other, he placed the unconscious naknadan down, where multiple students pounced on him and restrained him. Afterward, Viper stopped near the library where he found Takeda and Kung Jin.

"I am pleased to see you two survived the battle." Viper walked over, the ends of his cloak brushing slightly in front of him.

"The feeling's mutual," Takeda said.

"You would've expected less from me?" Kung Jin said, in a tone not unlike Viper's earlier.

"Tell Ms. Cage that I will join you." Takeda smiled approvingly while Kung Jin snarked: "Took you long enough." Viper, in response, turned to him and snarked back: "And yes, I would've expected less from you." Takeda started laughing, and despite the friendly punch that Jin gave him, he didn't cease.

Viper left them to their devices and started towards the staircase. Once he reached the level with his chambers, his thoughts shifted to Jade. Nothing unusual, for twenty years it seemed not an hour could pass where he didn't find himself thinking of her.

Her face, her hair, her eyes. The thoughts made him smile. Until they didn't.

As he entered, he opened the chest again. Looking into it, not much would be useful for the journey he was to make. And in his mind, he listed off the trinkets and tools that were exceptions.

"_Pouches of gold, silver, bronze, some more of the teleportation devices, maybe another jar of tarkatan essence, books for the road and…" _his hand pressed into something sharp, the feeling of steel against scales being familiar.

"_What's this?" _He cleared the material around it and lifted a golden blade, it was small and had to be held by what appeared to be a green pommel.

"_It can't be…" _He pressed a claw into the end of the dagger and the two other blades popped out.

Silence pervaded the room.

Hurriedly, he plunged his hand back into the chest and, after a bit of digging, pulled a small pole out. When it took its true form it became a long staff that radiated a purple color.

Once again, silence enveloped the room.

Viper scurried over to his drawer, besides his cloak he didn't keep much else to wear. But the weapons had reminded him of something. He barely cared to close the cupboards as he searched. And finally, when he opened the last one he saw a necklace, the beads were a dark red and the gem at the end was a carved amethyst. The pattern was that of a reptile's eye. He placed it on the stand and quickly began searching for another accessory. When he couldn't find it he became panicked. His eyes darted around the entirety of the room until… he realized he had never taken it off. Slowly, Viper fluctuated the enchantment of his cloak. On his right hand, his dominant one, he found a ring. The band of it was gold, and adorning its top was a green gem. Surrounded by mementos of her, he crumpled. It had been years since he had cried, be it of happiness, sadness or anger, but he did now.

"Jade…" He said.

* * *

**20 A.M.K.**

"I think Li Mei is sweet on you," Karanba said.

"I disagree." Viper responded, with an air of finality.

"Did you see the way she looked at you?" Karanba urged, despite his master's tone.

"What proof do you have of this 'look' she gave me." When they stared into the distance together, they could see her walking back to Sun Do. In Karanba's opinion she was pretty, with her black hair and long face, her high cheekbones and the gaunt they left, as well as her eyes that were a nice chocolate brown. In truth though, he had never seen Jade and as such, he had no idea what kind of person Viper was attracted to.

"Do you think she's pretty?" Karanba continued

"Not especially, why?" Viper said nonchalantly, his eyes reverted back to the pages of his book.

"Not especially?!" Karanba paused.

"Honestly? I don't find many people exceptionally beautiful… that kind of," He paused. "It just never interested me much."

"Until…"

"Yes, Karanba. Until her."

"What did Jade look like? If you don't mind my asking."

"Quite like Li Mei, actually."

"Then, why don't you find her," He put extra emphasis on that last word, pointing towards the Outworlder, "beautiful," He finished

"Because Karanba… she's not Jade. None of them are."

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper put his hood back in place, the necklace was on now. He sauntered towards the weapons and picked them up off the ground. Wiping the last tears from his eyes, he placed them in his travel bag.

"Master." The voice started.

"Karanba… what's the matter?"

"Kollector has awoken, he's been restrained… but he's cursing uncontrollably."

"Come now, you know what I meant." Viper turned back to the mirror.

"I know that… I know you'll be leaving soon."

"And?"

"I want to come with you."

"No." Karanba paused at that.

"But, I'm ready for more than assassinations!"

"You handled yourself well in that battle, Karanba. But, I can't let you come with me."

"Why?"

"Who do you think is going to be master of this place while I'm gone? I trust you, and only you with that responsibility, Karanba."

"_It's only… I don't know what would've happened to me if I hadn't met you."_ Echoed in Viper's mind.

"I don't want yo-" Viper interrupted him with a touch to the shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, you know."

* * *

**That night…**

"That's crazy, Jin."

"What? I know you like her."

"I'm not going to sneak around her room!"

"Get the hell out of here, I know you've thought about it."

"Oh really? Are you psychic too now?"

There was silence.

"_Oh thank the elder gods he stopped talking." _Takeda thought.

"Y'know…" Kung Jin started again, just as Takeda got used to the quiet.

"_Jin… I love you, but sometimes…" _He let his mind wander, not listening to his friend anymore. Takeda liked Jacqui, he really did, but a mission like this wasn't what he considered all too romantic.

"Ya get what I mean?" Takeda tuned in for the last bit of Jin's speech.

"Yea, yea… sure."

"Bullshit! You weren't even listening!"

"Well, what did you expect? You suggested sneaking into her room to... y'know!"

"If you're not gonna tell her, I will."

"Is this payback for my 'plan' a few years ago, y'know with Kai?"

"Your 'plan,' Takeda… was absolutely horrible, but no."

"Well I-… do you hear that?" It sounded akin to footsteps.

"What?"

"I… I'll be back."

"Are you trying to escape m-"

Takeda closed the door to their room. He could see a long red cloak disappearing at the end of the corridor. Takeda knew that they would be leaving soon but, when he and Jin had told Cassie she asked for an answer that was more precise.

Seemingly, she hadn't gotten one yet.

He followed, attempting to ask Viper for the specific time they would be leaving. But when he rounded the corner he found that the saurian had apparently disappeared. Takeda picked up his pace to catch the master of the academy but instead, he found the entrance wide open. There was strange energy around the door.

It called to him with the soft sounds of rain, the loud imposing thunder, and the constant low bellow of the swamps. He walked, not all certain he was doing it of his own will, and entered the showers. The land was shrouded in tense darkness, the only thing that could be clearly seen was the tree line against a slightly lighter sky.

After a few minutes of time out there, the bellows grew louder. Takeda turned his gaze to the swamps and saw eyes that rivaled the brightness casted by the lightning. They appeared like violet fire and, shortly after multiple reptilian creatures joined them. Some were giant, some were tiny, and one, the owner of the purple oculi, was humanoid.

"Unless you have crystals behind your retinas," He said sarcastically, "it's dangerous to come too close to some of these species… most of the 'seasonal breeders' favor spring."

"Spring?"

"Why do you think I'm out here, Mr. Takahashi? I'm not reliant on seasons, but saurians always loved this time of year."

The species that joined Viper didn't differ only in size. Some were familiar, a couple of crocodiles, some snakes, a few tortoises, komodo dragons and plenty of their smaller cousins. But there were also fantastical creatures such as drakes and basilisks. Their eyes were never purple, but they carried other beautiful colors, a fiery vermillion, a lush green, a sunny yellow, an icy blue, a pure silver, and what was better was that they all glowed.

"Zaterra, although it may not seem so, is alive, Mr. Takahashi."

To say that there was silence would've been partially incorrect, as the rain only sounded soft when indoors.

"I wanted to ask about when we were planning on leaving."

"Oh come now, all of us," he gestured to the other reptiles, "know why you've appeared here."

"I… don't follow."

"Jacqueline Briggs."

"What of her?"

"I can practically smell the affection you have for her on you."

"That's-"

"A small bit strange, alien, and maybe under some circumstances even invasive? Yes."

Rain, and then thunder.

"I, I do like her."

"Good, you wouldn't believe how much she enjoys your company."

Remembering the line about aromas Takeda asked: "does she… does she smell like 'that' too?"

"Yes, Takeda."

"I think I'd like to wait until this mission is over to tell her, though."

"Don't wait, take it from me."

The noise they created was replaced by the continuous bellows, hisses, and even chirps made by the reptiles. The rain accompanied them, and the sporadic thunder and lightning, although loud and imposing, seemed to be less brilliant than the glow of the native creatures.

"Why are you out here?"

"… Sometimes, when I'm out here in these swamps and jungles… I'll find a shade of green that somehow manages to be a fraction as brilliant as Jade's eyes."

He smiled.

" Sometimes, a man likes to remember."

He let some of the snakes slither onto his arm, another few seemed to almost purr as he scratched the underside of their snouts. Then, he continued,

"And sometimes a man needs to feel close to home."

He stopped, looked to the sky, and continued.

"It's the first night of spring, after all."

* * *

**A few hours before sunrise…**

The rain hadn't quite stopped yet, but it had become steadier with its abandoning of the lightning. The moss felt damp and nice against the scales, and the sleeping slithers of the snakes, the soft but deep bellows of the crocodiles, the slight limb movements of the lizards, the drips of water off the feathers of the drakes and basilisks made the vegetation seem all the nicer.

Viper relaxed with the assortment of reptiles sleeping around him, throughout the bulk of the night they had paraded through the swamps, but now they were resting. It was a fact that Spring was the only season in which every reptilian species in Zaterra could be mutually comfortable. Summer was nice enough, but it never reached the temperature it used to. Autumn was alright, but it didn't cool enough to be considered as pleasant as it once was. Winter, quite simply, was non-existent after the merging. Spring though, spring remained unchanged. He laughed to himself, after the merging, the seasons in Zaterra may have felt the same to anyone esle. But the reptiles, creatures he often felt were discarded among the other creations of nature, knew what it meant.

Spring also brought more beauty than the freshly blooming flowers, every male of every species in the den, which was all of the reptiles in the nest including Viper, would start to radiate more bioluminescence. Some had already started, the komodo dragons and their smaller cousins had dim patterns of all shades in between their scales, and the end of feathers on the drakes and basilisks glowed a great many colors. The crocodiles hadn't started yet, the tortoises wouldn't start for a while still, and Viper may not experience it at all, he was to leave Zaterra soon. Eventually, though, all of them, including the ones who had already begun, would radiate even brighter to attract females. No-one was completely sure why saurians joined the other species… but Viper thought it was nature's way of saying 'you are all connected.'

It would still be a few more hours until the rising of the sun. Viper didn't mind though, he had favored the night for most of his years, although, he admitted the day was a welcome change every now and again. But that wasn't what was truly occupying the saurian's mind.

He stared at the ring. Then he stared at the necklace. Sticking his tongue out, he tasted the air, where it was apparent that her scent still ruled above the others. He could've actively filtered it out but… he didn't want to. He closed his eyes, feeling the moisture run through the grooves between his scales. It was a nice sensation for all the reptiles in the den, even in their sleep, but it was nothing compared to her hands.

He closed his eyes and waited. In what felt like an hour their shaking tails, squirming torsos, and tongues tasting the air signaled the waking hours. He stood with the rest of them, and they left their den. He walked the dirt roads, surrounded by dense swampland. When he looked down to the other vegetation, he could see the nightshade, panda lilies, and fire lilies blooming. Viper continued on his stroll, his tail wagging in happiness. When he emerged from the foliage, the sky was growing closer and closer to the inevitable dawn. Soon, the other life of Zaterra would be active. The golden snub-nosed monkeys resting in their hot-springs, the gorillas foraging in their mountains, the orangutans preferring the jungles, and the chimpanzees being somewhere in between. The birds of paradise flying high above the canopy. The amphibians sauntering across the lowlands of the ecosystem. The fish that swam slowly and calmly through the murky waters and their colorful and swift cousins that lived nearer to the mountains. The beautiful tigers sneaking to chase their prey in both swamps and jungle, the spotted jaguars and leopards doing the same in the trees, the pitch dark panthers competing in the mountains. And the giant pandas climbing their trees to rest.

As he reached the academy once more, where it would be less than an hour before day would truly break, it hit Viper.

"_Today… is a beautiful day."_

* * *

**Z'Unkahrah**

Reptile felt the plainest suggestion of the spring breeze. In the bulk of Outworld, it went most unnoticed. His mind turned to Viper, his friend whom he rarely spoke to anymore.

"_I wonder, what Zaterra looks like this season." _His mind traveled to and his heart ached for a time long since passed. To most, Z'Unkahrah was a beautiful city full of magnificent wonders and oddities that attracted many a traveler. Like another being may take a walk through the woods though, a saurian needed to feel the moss between his toes, his claws digging into the swampy ground. It was all quite maddening.

"What're you thinkin' 'bout?" Erron Black said. Riding in the carriage were the aforementioned cowboy, Ermac, Reptile, and emperor Ko'atal himself.

"A man's thoughts are his own, he will share them if he wished," Kotal added. Ermac said nothing still, his gaze glued to the window.

"Zaterra." Reptile said. He paused, then continued. "It should be spring there."

"I've lived in this place for years, and I never noticed any sorta seasonal change," Erron spoke, his accent giving way as to his homerealm.

"Not many do." Reptile answered sardonically.

"The realms used to have more noticeable features when they were seperate," Kotal said.

"And yet they are now one," Ermac responded, his eyes never leaving the window.

"A united Outworld stands stronger against its enemies." Kotal insisted.

"True enough, I suppose." Erron crossed his arms and reclined in his seat.

"Safe from the black dragon?" Reptile asked, guilelessly.

Erron huffed from his seat, Ermac returned to silence, and Kotal was the only one who cared to answer.

"Most of them are long apprehended."

"If I may, they're pack animals, emperor." Reptile said.

"Their most powerful member, Tremor is captured. As well as two of their other warriors, Jarek and Tasia. I killed one too, Kobra, I think." Erron black added.

"We would think it is wise to assume they have more than five members. If Mileena hired one, their leader, Kano, then it is likely she hired more." Ermac pointed out.

The emperor was silent, seemingly being in a bad mood. He had many admirers, at least among his court, but he had many enemies. Reptile remembered his days training in espionage, he had always suspected that D'vorah, the emperor's paramour, had a scheme planned but, when he attempted to alert Kotal he was advised never to speak of the subject again.

"Haha, I think this is my stop." Erron Black smiled through the window, he was examining a brothel. "Wonder how strong their wine is… maybe I should try some." He scratched at the brown stubble.

"I haven't given you leave." Kotal asserted.

"Hmph, with all due respect, emperor, sometimes… ya gotta live in the moment. Feel the thrills of a few hours spent doin' whatever the hell ya want." Erron smiled, satisfied by the images he had probably conjured up in his head.

"In time, Black, you will be free to visit these 'establishments' but now we have more to discuss." Kotal asserted.

"Like what, Mileena's gone to lick her wounds?"

"The fact that we were attacked by a horde of tarkatans at all is inadequate, Erron," Kotal said.

"Then why're we out here in the middle of a city the size of a jungle talkin' about plans, don't we have a war room or somethin'?"

"Yes, Erron. But we had to make an 'appointment'."

Reptile stared out the window, looking at the lineup of people. There must have been hundreds. of tarkatans ready to be executed. Once the emperor exited the carriage, he unsheathed the macuahuitl on his back.

"I will make absolutely certain, no-one is working for Mileena."

* * *

_A/N: Well… like I said earlier, chapter 4 still needs to be updated but I think I'm pretty happy with chapter 3. There's a little detail in this chapter that I noticed halfway through writing it, and while I could've changed it, I decided to leave it in… just in case someone noticed it. As always, thank you for reading._

_Sincerely, The Swampian._


	7. Ancestry

_A/N: Hello again! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. I just wanted to say: romantic chemistry is the bane of my existence. It causes me pain to write._

* * *

**9023 B.M.K.**

"I'd like to do this again, sometime." She said, opening the door for him.

"I'd like that too." He said, smiling.

"_I bet one side of our mouth is crooked," _The voice said, dripping in vitriol.

"Would you like to meet tomorrow night?" She prompted.

"Around this time again? Yes. Maybe in the library?"

"Great."

"If you can't find me, I'll be perched on a chandelier," Truer than many would've guessed, hanging upside down or posing like a gargoyle was something Viper found terribly fun.

"I'll hold you to that, you know," She said, smiling.

"Then I won't disappoint."

…

"I had fun tonight," She said.

"I'm glad… so did I," He fidgeted his fingers, the claws pressing softly into each other.

He looked into the hallway for a moment before gazing back at the open door.

"Alright, goodnight," He said, while quite literally zipping away, his heart racing. When he slammed the door shut to his room, he placed a hand on his chest and slumped to the floor.

"_Tomorrow…" _He said to himself.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper looked at the staff. His hands ran over the small piece of metal, treating it so carefully that one may have thought it was the emperor's replacement liver.

"Hey," He looked to his left, it was Jacqui.

"I knew Outworld was mostly desert but, I thought there'd be more vegetation than… well, this." She took her hand out of the tall grass they were sitting in. They were well on their way to Z'Unkahrah.

"This is about it for a while," He rested his head against the bark of a tree. "Then, aside from a few exceptions, it's mostly wasteland."

"Outworld is depressing," Jacqui said.

"Johnny said something quite similar. I can't blame him, I felt like Manhattan was a land for the insane at first."

"Why?"

"If someone asked you if you were Godzilla, how would you respond?"

"…Fair enough."

"And yes, Outworld is depressing sometimes. The Konqueror didn't discriminate."

"Shao Kahn," She seemed to recite. "For a while, I never understood why all the kids in school would give modern events presentations on him."

"He was an intimidating man." He turned his gaze back to the staff, the thoughts of the first Outworld invasion were strangely well preserved in his mind.

"And Kotal?" She said.

"I came on this trip with you, what do you think?"

"Fair enough."

She was silent for a moment and then asked: "Whatcha got there?"

"This?" He asked, holding up the staff. "It was Jade's staff."

"Doesn't look like a staff."

"Watch and see." He stood as it took its true form, it became taller than Viper himself. The staff would do that, adjust its size to the user.

"It… kinda looks like a lightsaber."

"The weapon from Star Wars?" He asked as he sat back down.

"You watched Star Wars?" She grinned.

"Johnny forced me to when I was in Earthrealm. It was more fun than I thought it'd be, actually."

"Not to be rude but you'd look like a-" She started.

"Jawa if my cloak had sleeves and I was half my size? Johnny couldn't stop saying that the first time we watched it together."

"Yea," Jacqui said, laughing. When they were finished chuckling, the staff shrunk to its resting state.

"…You know, she loved this thing," He said.

"Jade, you mean?"

"Yes." He laughed. "She'd say something like: 'regale me, an old man like you must have plenty of stories to tell.' Then, I'd say: 'and yet, you seem to be the one carrying a cane.' Gods she would get so mad," He put the staff back in the travel bag, while he listened to Jacqui laugh.

He stared into the tall grass around them, a small smile on his face.

* * *

**9021 B.M.K.**

"Looking for another book?"

"Not one on Edenia." He said, hanging by his tail from a chandelier.

"Why?"

"There's not much else to talk about."

"Then why are we here?" Jade gestured to the rest of the library. He paused, before looking at her and saying: "I… enjoy spending time with you."

She looked back up, where his body was sticking out towards the shelf. His tail, in the meanwhile, was still coiled around the chandelier.

"Oh," She said. "Likewise, Viper."

He looked down and smiled his slightly crooked smile.

"Unless you'd like to talk about something else?" He turned his gaze back to the shelf and pulled out a small book. His arms let go of the wood, and he hung solely by his feet and tail. His cloak, in response, fell past his head but, his entire body remained black as obsidian.

She recalled something, the only thing she could remember of Edenia, from her childhood. "There is one thing," She said.

"Go on," He said, flipping some of the pages.

"When I first saw your drawings," She paused checking if he was still listening.

"When you first saw my drawings," He recited, confirming his paying attention.

"I heard this… voice," He looked at her as she spoke, his eyes visible past the side of the book cover.

"Interesting, what did it say?"

"My name."

"Any idea who it belonged to?"

"It was a woman's voice."

"Just the voice? No other memory associated with it?"

"As far as I can tell…" She said her mind and the previous sentence trailing off. Through a blurry filter, she saw a woman with pale skin, and brown hair. Jade tried to close in on the image, but when she got too close it seemed to explode in her face.

"Are you alright?" Viper had dropped from his previous position. "You seemed… lost for a moment."

"Yes, I'll-… I'll be fine."

"Let's... get out of the library, where we can talk-"

"Viper, I'll be fine." She insisted.

"When people start losing themselves in thought about voices and memories they're usually not fine, you know." She looked at him for another moment, knowing he had her best interest at heart, she relented.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"I don't know, I expected the sky to be purple or something…" Jacqui said.

"Don't believe everything you see online," Kung Jin responded. Carrying his air of superiority over the rest of the group. He had wondered why Jacqui had that misconception, especially considering they had stayed in Zaterra for the past few days.

"And what makes you an expert?" Cassie said, obviously tired of Jin.

"The Shaolin archives, I studied a lot about Outworld," He looked back, where he saw Kollector, still restrained and cursing about how Cassie's name meant: 'heap of dung' in his tongue.

"No substitute for experience," Cassie insisted.

"So what makes you our leader?" Kung Jin asked.

"Guys. Let's stick to the mission," Takeda interrupted.

"Li Mei has to be telling the truth," Cassie said.

"She has a good heart," Viper confirmed.

"But an invasion would violate the Reiko accords," Jacqui said.

"'Cause you can always trust an Outworlder," Kung Jin snarked.

"Li Mei is one of a few I would trust, though," Viper said while making sure Kollector hadn't loosened his bonds.

"But if Outworld's our ally, why didn't they help us during the Netherrealm war? Against Quan Chi and his team of…" Takeda started.

"Revenants? Like Jacqui's dad?" Kung Jin finished for him.

"Asshole," Jacqui piped up. In the meanwhile, Viper, who had been a revenant, gave him a threatening stare, one where the slits in his eyes became so small they looked entirely purple. Realizing he had overstepped his bounds, he moved the conversation on.

"It's not an alliance. Non-aggression pact. Outworld is not our ally."

"Considering we're in its capital, I'd advise you to quiet down Jin," Viper cautioned, and just he said that someone else entered the conversation with: "the lizard's right. It's a point I'd think you'd want to make with more subtlety, given your surroundings…" A cowboy jogged forward, an entourage of soldiers walking up with him.

"Now state your business. Including a reason why we shouldn't kill you," He finished while cocking the gun in his holster.

"I can read you… you're not from Outworld," Takeda said.

"I'm from Earthrealm, like you. But my employer, Kotal Kahn, is from Outworld. So now, I'm from Outworld. State your business," He seemed about ready to fight, his instincts only briefly quelled by Cassie's explanation of: "We're emissaries. We need to talk to Kotal Kahn. Here, we have Raiden's official seal."

"_The man's practically an outworlder, and in Outworld, there's always time for money,"_ He thought as he walked back to Viper, who was still carrying the Kollector on his back.

"You've known him longer than I have, does he have any interests other than gold?" Jin whispered to Viper.

"Thrills and money. That's what he wants… offer him something so enticing he won't be able to turn it down… if he still refuses, use the naknadan to sweeten the deal," Viper whispered back. As Jin turned his attention back to the conversation, ignoring the continued cursing of the Kollector, he heard: "I can buy one of those at that stall over there…" Erron, seeming about ready to order his men to kill them, was interrupted by Kung Jin.

"Look… you can arrest us… even kill us… but if we're tellin' the truth, you probably get a pay cut. Or worse," He paused.

"You take us to the Kahn, I'll tell 'im you took us down. Maybe get a bonus. Y'cant lose," There was no doubt that Erron Black was starting to listen and, as he scanned the rest of the group, his eyes fixated at the very back. If Kung Jin had to guess, probably at their naknadan prisoner. He waited a few moments, seeming to weigh the options, but finally said: "Follow me."

Cassie looked over, seeming impressed at her teammate for once.

"In these times of war, we are required to view every resource as a weapon for our Emperor to use at his discretion. To take without his leave is to steal from the hand of Kotal Kahn himself. Therefore, having been found guilty of theft, you shall be put to death," A soldier spoke, around him were others, two that were handling another man, and one more that had a macuahuitl in his hand. They all stood on a wooden stage, surrounded by the smallfolk of Z'Unkahrah. The man that was being dragged spoke next: "I was hungry! I-," he was cut off though, being dragged toward a block of wood.

"Your sentence will be carried out… immediately!" The soldier spoke again.

"Death? For petty theft?" Kung Jin said to Erron Black in disbelief.

"Remember where you are," The cowboy said back.

Jin scurried through the crowd, eager to stop the execution. His teammate and supposed leader, Cassie, called his name. The last thing he heard, at least before everything truly went to shit, was a gunshot.

But he didn't care, he readied an arrow and let it loose. It hit the soldier with the macuahuitl and sent him flying backward. Three soldiers stepped forward to fight but were soon defeated.

Freeing the man who was about to be executed, Kung Jin gave them their next order, a simple: "Get outta here, go!"

But, before he could help his friends, Erron Black held him at gunpoint saying: "I knew I shouldn't have listened to you."

"A lesson in trust… from a mercenary," Jin readied an arrow, wondering if he could fire before Erron got the best of him.

"Here's another learning opportunity," Black said.

Kung Jin shot the arrow he had primed and quickly swung his bow at the mercenary's neck. But, Erron Black, simply put, was too fast. Firing a bullet, which barely missed its mark, he slid and knocked Jin off his feet. Next, Erron rushed in and prepared to tackle him before he could get up but, the Shaolin rolled.

Jin got up and swung his blade, a chakram, but any blows he had made were relatively ineffective. Erron kicked himself up and fired rapidly, the last bullet he let loose, hit what seemed to be a sphere containing sand. As the contents exploded Jin was blinded and that moment was all Erron needed. He slammed the end of his gun into the Shaolin's forehead and kicked him in the chest. But even on the floor, Jin's bow was useful for more than simple strikes and arrows. He let a blast of flame hit Erron square in the chest and then finally seeing a solid opening, he slammed the staff's head into his adversary's face.

After a moment of relief though, the ground started to quake.

"Havitamaah!" A call rang across the courtyard, and its owner began to walk out of the few shadows that were cast by the entrance.

"otayGAH!" The language was unfamiliar, but that didn't matter, Jin knew he could be feeling it soon enough.

"Let's play, Torr!" A young girl said from the back of a masked brute that carried himself like a gorilla.

"You couldn't just ask for a pony like every other girl?" Cassie asked nervously.

"The archives never mentioned symbiotes…" Jin said, readying another arrow.

"Get used to that, Outworld is insane," Viper cautioned.

Most of the team charged at the beast, but quite easily, the brute beat Jacqui, lifted her into the air, and was about to break her back. Before it could happen though, Jin let loose an arrow and it hit its mark, saving Jacqui at the last minute.

When Takeda entered the fray he was thrown to the floor and hit by two massive fists. He was about to be struck again before Kung Jin shot at the beast once more, injuring the brute and saving his friend.

Cassie propelled herself forward with a shadow kick but was caught and hit in the face. The giant took her into his arms and looked as if he was about to snap her in half, while the girl on his back stood and readied her hand-blades. Jin let loose one final arrow and hit the brute's rider, saving Cassie.

"Any advice now that they're charging at us?" Jin asked.

"You're friends charged head-on, I've fought Ferra and Torr before… trust me it's better to separate them" Viper answered.

"You here make trouble, Skinny? Trouble make you!" Ferra roared from Torr's back, apparently having climbed back up.

"I'll get them away from each other, once I do it's best we strike immediately," Viper said.

"Gotcha."

Viper dodged back and forth, avoiding the wide swings of Torr. When the saurian got behind the brute, he swiped his claw across the back of the giant's knee. Viper crawled up the side of Torr, grabbed Ferra, and threw her off. Seeing the perfect time to strike, Jin sprinted forward and let a blast of flames hit his opponent in the face.

Torr, although he may have been nothing more than a brute, he was nonetheless quite an effective one. The flames hurt him for only a few moments before he swung his fists again, bringing them down closer and closer to Kung Jin. However, he had forgotten about Viper, who dashed forward and climbed onto Torr's back. The saurian flipped himself off of the brute, but as he did his tail coiled around the neck of the giant, ushering him forward as Ferra may have had before.

Jin launched himself forward with a flying kick and slammed his foot into Torr's face. When they both landed, and the dust had settled, the symbiotic pair were defeated.

"Well done, Jin," Viper said as walked over.

"Let's see how our friends are before we start celebrating," Jin ran forward, seeing his teammates stand, even if it wasn't without trouble, was a good sign.

"You guys alright?" But they didn't have a chance to respond. More soldiers, led by D'vorah whoso happened to be carrying the Kollector, sprinted forward with unsheathed weapons.

"The Earthrealmers, yes? This One must learn more of your diplomatic techniques," She said, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm.

"We're here to see Kotal Kahn. General Blade's-" Cassie started.

"You interfere with Outworld matters. The penalty is death," D'vorah interrupted.

"I'm sensing a theme," Cassie said aside.

"But, as we honor the Reiko Accords… we will consult the emperor. You will wait here." D'vorah walked away, leaving the soldiers to guard them.

"You wanna take this opportunity to tell us what the hell you were thinking?!"

"I gotta wonder why you'd risk interrealm war for a bread thief…" Takeda supported Cassie.

"Because not all thieves are irredeemable," Jin said, proudly.

"I agree that what you did was stupid," Jin turned his gaze to Viper. "But, I have to commend you."

"_Not all thieves are irredeemable,"_ Jin recited to himself.

* * *

**9021 B.M.K.**

"Qaya," Jade said.

"Qaya," Viper recited, the name sounding strangely familiar to him.

"Yes," She glanced over at him and asked: "What are you doing."

"What does it look like I'm doing? I've made tea," He walked over to her, offering her one. "It's not the best but, well… if you don't like it… you don't have to drink it."

"_Smooth," _He said to himself.

"_I hate you," _He retorted.

"Thank you," She said, taking one into her hand. They were in his chambers, which in retrospect may have been a bad idea if Jade was to touch anything too much, chances were the entire room would smell like her for hours. And, even when he actively tried to filter her smell out, which quite frankly wasn't that often, it still was a slight bit stronger than anything else.

"So, this Qaya. You know her?" He prompted.

"No… at least I don't think so."

"How do you mean?" Taking a sip of his own tea, he soon realized he wanted to spit it out.

Reading what parts of his face she could see, she said: "I shouldn't drink this, then."

"Probably not," She took a sip anyway, and after a moment of looking at it, she turned to him and asked: "Did you… try to make my favorite kind of tea?"

He was silent for a few moments and then said: "Depends… do you like it?"

"Depends," She said seeming to toy with him. "Did you know yellow tea was my favorite?" She crossed her leg and smiled devilishly.

"Yes… I- I did," He grinned nervously.

"Well then, Viper," She paused and took another sip. "It's the best tea I've ever had."

He chuckled a little, a small bit hesitant to return to the previous topic.

"But, I digress," She said. "Her name, the way her voice sounded, even the way she looked is all a bit familiar."

"Qaya," He said to himself. "Brown hair, pale skin, green eyes?"

"Did you know her?" Jade asked.

"I met her once," He thought for a moment, "She was a noblewoman, last time I was in Edenia."

"Why is she in my head?" Jade uncrossed her legs, seemingly about to stand.

"When I did see her, she and her husband informed me they would be trying for a baby soon. That was a couple of years before the merging." He scratched at his chin, not feeling the need to say anything more.

"Well…" She started.

"You alright?" He asked.

"It just… seems weird is all." She looked deep in thought for a moment. "Qaya," She repeated.

"Would you like to talk about it?" He probed.

"What is there to talk about?" She laughed, almost nervously.

"Jade," He started unsure of how he would finish. After a few moments of thought, he decided to stick with a simple: "What's wrong?"

"A giant lizard knew my mother while I didn't," She looked up, her voice laced with an especially effective sort of venom and then apologized. "I'm sorry, I'm just… upset." She took a long pause and then continued. "I, sometimes I feel jealous."

"Of who?"

"It seems irrational to me… but, of everyone, practically."

"You can tell me, Jade."

"My mother, died while I was a child, sometimes I envy that experience," She took another swig of the tea.

"Yes…" He started, his mind traveling to, unpleasant, thoughts of his own mother. Barring that, he reached his hand across the table, taking hers into his. She smiled, although still seemed to be thinking of her mother.

"What were your parents like?" She asked, quite suddenly. But, he was fine with answering at least half of the question.

"My father," He started. "His name was Suko, and he was a fisherman," He paused, the thoughts of his dad being some of his warmest memories. "Sometimes… I wonder how I would've ended up if it weren't for him."

"Is he still in Zaterra?" Jade asked.

"No… he died long ago. Before the merging was even a question," He laughed. "Strange… soon I'll be twice as old as he was." Nervously, he took another sip of his tea. In response, her hand squeezed his.

"I made a promise in that jungle, I intend to keep it," She said.

"When I met her, Qaya, she was so excited to have been married, so excited to know that she might be having a child soon. I know that she would've loved you, Jade," He rested his cheek on his hand.

"Was your father-" She started.

"Deformed?" He finished, ready to answer her before she finished her question.

"No," She said. "The proper word is remarkable."

…

The walk back to her chambers was silent.

When they reached the door to her room he planned on bidding her goodnight but before he could, she turned, grabbed his face, spread her fingers across the scales of his neck and head, and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. He pushed his hand into the scales that her lips had touched. Nervously, he asked: "Why-… why did you do that?"

Her answer was a smile, and a simple: "Because I wanted too." And with that, she opened the door to her chambers and walked in.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"Your news of refugees is troubling. Their exodus to Earthrealm was not known to me," Kotal stared down Cassie before he continued.

"I do know this: I invited no guests from Earthrealm. Certainly, none who would disrupt the execution of justice," He walked up to the steps of the stage and placed his hand on the pillory before he continued. "How do I know you are not allied with Mileena? Perhaps her newfound power has earned her new friends?"

"Friends? No. No! We're not even sure that's Shinnok's Amulet she has-" Cassie started.

"She employs Shinnok's Amulet against me?! The very item Earthrealm swore would be safe in its care?! When Outworld was offered no participation-" Kotal began.

"We were under attack, not Outworld-" Cassie tried to explain themselves, but Kung Jin interrupted her.

"Kotal Kahn, The Fire that Burns the Sun. We are here because we share your concerns about the missing item. We intend no ill against your rule," Jin bowed his head slightly.

"At least one Earthrealmer can forge words like silver," Kotal smiled for a second, before returning his face to a grim stare.

"But I recall an Earthrealm expression: "There is more honor among thieves than diplomats."

"I've had the questionable fortune to be both, Emperor. But I'm telling you the truth."

"You are allied with Mileena. You may carry out your sentence." Kotal spoke to D'vorah, but Jin objected

"Kotal Kahn. Under Outworld Law I claim the right of Defense… by Kombat."

"What?" Takeda walked forward.

"You're gonna fight… a duel?" Jacqui spoke.

"To absolve us of all accusations. Denying the request brings dishonor upon the accuser," Kung Jin didn't flinch, his words never outpacing his fortitude.

"You know much of Outworld," Kotal stepped forward.

"Know also: The duel ends in death." D'vorah gave a look to the Emperor. But right as Kung Jin was about to step forward, Viper decided it was about time to join into the 'conversation.'

"What are you doing?" Jin asked.

"You're good… but Kotal is centuries older than you." He said simply, stepping into the middle of the two groups. Kotal's tattoos started to glow a yellow color, and his eyes followed suit. Viper tasted the air, where only the smell of blood ruled.

"You have won nothing, merely a few more seconds of breath."

Before anything else could be said, Viper sprinted forward, tapping into super speed, and raked his claws against the Emperor's chest. He dashed back toward the osh-tekk and his tail wrapped itself around Kotal's neck. As he kept running, the Emperor lost his footing, and his body slammed into the stone of the courtyard. When they separated, Kotal took out the sickles on his back and swung them at Viper's legs. The emperor, after swinging for a moment too long, opened himself up for a tail strike, and accordingly, he was sent flying back. Viper chased after him, but Kotal stood and threw a disk of fire at him. The saurian grabbed onto the disk, undeterred by the fire, and broke it in half, but while doing so, the Emperor shapeshifted into a panther. Viper quickly postured himself on all fours.

Their roars and hisses drowned out the cries of the soldiers around them, and after they charged, the saurian was able to get the upper hand. He tackled the osh-tekk, who was still in panther form, to the ground. He clawed at the beast until he shapeshifted again but, once Kotal did, he summoned the energy of the sun. Viper, once again, ignored the minimal effect of the heat, and as a sign to the Emperor that he would have to fight harder, bit into his shoulder. In retaliation, Kotal summoned another blast of energy. His hand gleamed with yellow stripes and he punched the saurian, who was still dug into his shoulder, in the midsection. He repeatedly smashed his fist into Viper's torso and eventually sent him flying back.

They were back to where they started.

Kotal called upon the power of the sun, and the energy that was given to him manifested as fire. Viper, in response, ran straight into it. Seeing the saurian do so, Kotal sent a more powerful wave of energy that, instead of fire, manifested an explosion.

It became silent.

But, through the grey shroud of smoke, two purple lights could be seen. Running through the haze, Viper summoned the power of acid and threw a ball of it at Kotal. The Emperor dodged, but this was just what the saurian had wanted. The spheres exploded into tiny little streams of acid shaped like snakes. As they landed onto Kotal, Viper took control of them once more and they bit into the osh-tekk's skin. After this attack, the saurian ran forward and vitriol erupted from his mouth. Entire streams of acid slowly washed away the blue paint on Kotal's entire body.

Viper continued sprinting and summoned Jade's staff. Viper compelled it to take its true form, jumped into the air, and slammed it down on Kotal's head. The energy that typically radiated from it weaponized itself making the blow even more powerful and sent the osh-tekk flying ten feet back. With that, Viper had won the battle.

"You're free to…" He paused, wiping some of the blood off his chest before he continued. "Make your demands now."

Jin nodded and walked toward Kotal.

"And now, Emperor?" The osh-tekk lay on the ground as the Shaolin spoke, breathing heavily and holding his bleeding shoulder and chest.

"The charges against you are void. I say to all that Earthrealm means Outworld no harm," Kotal readjusted his position to kneel. "Now kill me. Be done with it."

"You're not actually gonna…" Cassie stepped forward.

"Instead of your life, I claim your service. If Mileena does have the amulet we can get it from her more easily if we work together," Jin said.

"Emperor… they cannot be trusted," D'vorah cautioned.

"D'vorah. Can you not perceive… I am indebted to them," He said as he stood once more.

"You honor us, Kotal Kahn. Our gratitude is wide like the ocean," Jin shook hands with the Emperor.

"I'll talk to General Blade… tell her about our new… arrangement." Cassie said.

When the people in the courtyard left, barring Kotal Kahn and Viper himself. The Emperor spoke.

"Reptile asked for you when he heard you were here," Kotal held his bleeding torso.

"Last time I saw him, you said I wouldn't be able to talk to him anymore," Viper said, not caring to look at the Emperor.

"When was that?" Kotal asked as if to say: "Who the hell cares?"

"Eleven years ago," Viper said.

"Much can change in eleven years," He paused.

…

"Kotal," Viper said.

"Yes?"

"Don't speak of my friends," It was strange to think that there was ever a time in which Viper wanted to curry favor, he hissed in disgust.

"Is this how you treat those who offer someone like you-"

"Someone like me?" He laughed. "Careful, Kotal, careful," He stared down Kotal, his gaze never faltering.

"You couldn't kill me. Today, fortune simply favored you."

"Buluc, the sun god, is defeated by a deformed lizard and you think that 'I can't defeat you without luck' is a part of the reasons I haven't killed you already?" Viper laughed. "If so, you're dumber than I first thought, Kotal. But after all, you did connive your way to power, and now you figure that you can trust more members of your court than you can count on one crippled hand… no, you couldn't possibly be stupid. Enjoy the Kollector, I'm sure you and he will get along swimmingly," Viper said left the courtyard. But, soon the feeling of satisfaction was replaced by what felt like a hollow pit in his stomach.

"_Someone like you," _Repeated endlessly in his head. When he had reached the inside of the palace, he found himself in a hallway. It was silent for a long time, at least until he heard some scream: "Viper, it's been too long!" The saurian turned, expecting to see Reptile. But… no-one was there. His gaze shifted back forward, and he heard it again.

"Viper, don't leave!_" _He turned again, this time, he thought he could see a dim glow at the end of the hallway.

"Reptile?" He asked.

"_It's been too… too long," _The voice said. It hit Viper like a fist, nearly sending him hurtling backward.

"You… you were expected, but not welcome." He said as he recomposed himself.

"_Don't you remember? You made me so I could keep you safe," _It insisted.

"I don't need you now, I haven't for a long time," He shot back, desperately trying to avoid something he knew he couldn't.

"_But now you do, don't you?"_ Everything became silent for a moment. Until he saw it manifested as him, but with glowing orange eyes, a black cloak, reptilian styled pauldrons on his shoulders, and blood splattered over his indistinct form.

"Get out of my head!" He screamed as he let acid erupt from his fists, trying to hit his enemy in the face. But, instead of killing the image, he heard a: "Viper!"

He woke up from the strange vision to see Reptile, who had taken control of the violent outburst of acid and suspended it in air.

"Reptile!" He scrambled over to help control the liquid. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were there."

"It's alright. How have you been?" He said.

"Fine," Viper responded.

…

"_Fine?" _He asked himself.

* * *

**9021 B.M.K.**

"Reptile!" He slammed his hand onto the door.

"Go to sleep!" He heard from within the room.

"Please! I need to ask you something!" The door next to them opened, Motaro walked out.

"Just answer the door, Reptile." He said, shaking his head tiredly. In response, the door swung open.

"What?!" Reptile's eyes were tired, and he sounded cantankerous.

"Well, see a few hours ago-" Viper started, but Motaro interrupted them.

"I think everyone would appreciate you talking inside the room," Motaro said.

"What about me? I won't 'appreciate' it?!" Reptile said angrily.

"You," Motaro paused. "Will just have to deal with him!" They were full-on screaming now. Seeing the trouble he had caused, Viper grabbed Reptile's arm and pulled him into the room.

"That stupid centaurian… I-" Viper interrupted him, saying that he wanted to talk about Jade.

"What about her?" Reptile said angrily.

"Well, I… am attracted… to her."

"Her?"

"Yes."

"No, no… I don't think you heard me. Her? Jade?"

"Yes, Reptile."

"A woman, whose skin isn't slimy and pale?

"Reptile?"

"Eyes aren't glossy black?"

"Repti-?"

Doesn't have a prehensile tongue?"

"Reptile!"

"And has hair?"

"Yes…" Viper said, imagining the typical saurian woman with Reptile's description.

"By the gods, you've gone mad!"

"That's beside the point. I… I think she might feel the same way," Viper's tail nervously slinked into his hands.

"And you know this because?"

"Well… she kissed me earlier tonight."

"On the lips?"

"No."

"Where was it then?"

"Cheek."

"I see."

"What does 'I see' mean?"

"That could just mean friendship, Viper. How long was it anyway?"

"A few seconds. Why?"  
"How long is 'a few seconds?'"

"Four or five," Viper answered honestly.

"I see."

"When you say 'I see' it doesn't really help, Reptile."

"Well… you may be right Viper."

"And?"

"There is no 'and.'"

"What?" Viper asked, thoroughly confused.

"Tell her how you feel, if you're so convinced she may feel the same way," Reptile answered.

"But… **how** do I tell her?"

"Just tell her."

"But! How?"

"Once again, there is no 'how', Viper. If you tell her and you're wrong then… you might've ruined your friendship. It's a leap of faith."

"Huh… I never thought of it like tha-"

"Now please… unlike you, I need sleep!" Reptile grabbed onto Viper, pushed him out the door, and shut it quite loudly.

"_I suppose… I should…" _Viper didn't finish his thought, he favored a different idea, and as usual for him, he returned to simply saying her name. _"Jade…"_

* * *

_A/N: Good news everyone! While I was looking into chapter 4 edits, I stubbornly decided to rewrite the whole thing. But, so far it's been going alright. I wanted to set up a few things in that chapter that I wanted to play a part later. One of those things (cough, cough, Viper charging and Kotal's fire and brushing away Tanya's fireballs) was hinted at multiple times but I wanted to give it a better foundation. As always, I hope you had fun reading._

_Sincerely, The Swampian_


	8. Heart of Ice

_A/N: Disclaimer, if you read just this chapter then you should be fine. But, the rewritten version of chapter 4 brings something up that makes a certain scene in this make a bit more sense. Either way though, I really hope you enjoy reading this._

* * *

**22 A.M.K., Orderrealm**

Kano slit the guard's throat and, after dumping the body off the floating structure, fully took on his appearance. He kept walking, making note of how colorless the world, or at the very least, most of this word was. The ground was white, the sky was white, the people often wore white, and everyone had milky white eyes.

There were cities full of color in the Orderrealm although they weren't the kind to be flying in the sky. No, they were on the lowlands, or exactly where Kano wasn't. He scratched what typically would've been a grey beard, but due to his face-swapping, he soon realized he was now 'clean-shaven.'

The guardsman were the only people he knew to wear black, and he walked over to one of them.

"Do you know where I could find prisoners?" Kano said.

"You must be new," The guard started. "Hotaru can help you."

"Right, but I can't seem to find him," He said, suppressing his accent.

"He should be at the central pyramid, if he weren't he would be breaking a law," The guard said, his voice echoing slightly from his black helmet. The faceplate of their headpieces, and the rest of their armor, was brimmed with gold.

"_Hell, the only substantial color besides the white is the bloody lolly," _Kano thought to himself as he walked around the metropolis. As he did, he wasn't sure what was what, and accordingly, another guard sauntered up to him.

"You're walking around aimlessly, please find something to do," He looked nearly indistinguishable from the last guardsman he had talked too.

"I **am** doing something, I'm looking for Hotaru," Kano said.

"Are you lost?" The guard said, confused.

"Yes, I'm afraid I am."

"Oh, then it is good of you to try and realign yourself," The guard said. "The central pyramid is this way."

"_I've got to get out of the Orderrealm, and soon," _Kano thought to himself, crazy at the complete lack of individuality.

The guard led him through the city and eventually they came to a great clearing. The only things that occupied it were a few incredibly long trees and one large central pyramid.

"He will be at the top, good day to you," And with that, the guard left.

"_Now… I just need to find Hotaru," _Kano silently reminded himself. Walking in, he jogged up a long flight of stairs and found a white door lined with bright white lights. A few seconds after he knocked on the door, it opened and disappeared into the ceiling.

"_What is this? Star Trek?" _Kano thought as he waited for the order to go in.

"Come in," The man's voice was deep. It was quite clear, to anyone who had spent any time in the Orderrealm, that it belonged to Hotaru. There were banners flying around the entire place and on them was a man with an olive complexion. He had silver hair that was worn half up and half down, and pale white eyes.

"My Lord, I was wondering if-"

"Kumo? What are you doing here? You should be at your post with Tonba," He stood, took his naginata and ninjato into hand and said "if you aren't to leave now, I will have to arrest you."

"_Real charmer," _Kano said to himself.

"My Lord, that's why I'm here. See, there was a reported altercation in the priso-"

"Which prison? Who caused this?" Hotaru started to listen, although he seemed to have absolutely no patience.

"The Black Dragon caused it," Kano laughed to himself.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper sat in a chair, his hands covered in blood.

"Kollector, you can speak-" Viper started.

"Never!" The naknadan said.

"Alright then," Viper moved over to him, pressed his finger into Kollector's chained hand, and let the acid bubble. The screams were quite terrible to listen to.

"Tell Kotal… tell him, that he's a son of a whor-" Viper thrusted his palm into the Kollector's face.

"That's something we agree on, but it's still getting us nowhere."

"Shao Kahn was the true emperor! Only his heir, Mileena, may have the throne!" Viper slammed his foot onto Kollector's. After a few moments of silence, the saurian started again, saying: "Listen, if you just tell us, I'll see to it that-"

Unfortunately, he was interrupted.

"If I told you, you'd have no reason to keep me alive," Kollector desperately tried to escape his bonds. His hisses and calls were starting to become absolutely unbearable.

"You know, Kollector, for once in twenty years, I'm getting tired. Congratulations," He said as he rubbed his eyes.

"When Mileena comes to get me, you'll be one of the first victims!" The naknadan laughed and laughed. Joy eventually turning to hysteria, as he tried to escape by kicking his legs back and forth.

"Listen, if you tell me where she is, we'll win this war faster, and the faster we win, the faster I can ask Kotal to let you go."

"Kotal will never let me leave, to him I'm a criminal!"

"_Forget this, we should kill him and be done with it," _The voice inside spoke, the same voice that, until recently, hadn't plagued him for years.

"_That would accomplish nothing," _He said, firmly.

"_Would you like to know something I never understood?" _Viper didn't answer the voice, but he knew it wouldn't be long before it spoke anyway.

"_I never understood why a woman like Jade would've wanted to have wasted herself on someone like you," _At that, Viper shot his hand out. His claws impaling the Kollector in one of the lower quadrants of his abdomen. His fingers stayed in the wound for a few moments, and when he wanted to remove them he heard the voice again.

"_Twist the claws."_

Viper nearly did, but stopped at the last moment. He took the claws out of the wound and with a strange level of calm, said: "there are plenty of non-lethal areas I could stab you, you know," The Kollector stopped his violent writhing, and replaced it with a few moments of ragged and heavy breath.

"Listen to me, Kollector," Viper started.

"Y- yes…" The naknadan said, his face looking down at his feet.

"If you don't tell me, exactly where Mileena is… on my honor, I will kill you."

"She's-" The Kollector seemed to recoil, expecting another hit. When it didn't occur, he continued. "In the Kuatan Jungle."

Viper, although he had been listening, was thinking of the look of fear the Kollector had in his eyes.

"_Look at him… pathetic," _The voice said.

"_He's just scared… scared of you."_

"_No… he's not scared. You are."_

Viper let go of Kollector. He stood, washed his hands free of blood, and turned to leave the torture chamber.

"Should we offer him healing?" One of the soldiers said, they had been watching the entire event. It would seem that, despite their iron-hard conviction to their kahn, they too were afraid of Viper.

"_He deserved it, he attacked our home!" _The voice called out

"_My home… not your home."_

"My Lord?" The soldier called out. Viper tried to answer him, but the voice pulled him back.

"_Come on, Karanba could've died."_

"_When did you ever care about Karanba? I raised him, not you,"_ Viper reminded the voice.

"_Oh I forgot, it's hard to imagine you raising a kid without Jade. You know, consi-"_

"_Stop!"_

"_What? A while ago you couldn't stop saying her name, every hour you'd whisper: 'Jade, Jade… Jade' to yourself._

"If you're worried about the supplies, we have enough to spend on him. It's mostly going to be magic," A different soldier said. Viper could barely hear the man over the conversation in his head.

"_Exactly my point!" _Viper screamed in his own head.

Viper pushed his way out of the chamber before hastily yelling yes to the guard. He stumbled up the stairs to the rest of the palace. It was there the green eyes became orange, it was there the soft skin became hard and as cold as stone.

And It was there he collapsed_,_ his vision blurring, and his tail wrapping around him as if he were a child again.

* * *

The saurian stepped onto the red hot coals. The scales on the bottom of his feet went unburned as he idly stood. He kept walking along the steaming path, his talons feeling the earthy substance between his toes. He looked to his left and there it was.

Him.

The color of his scales were obscured by the bright flames. In his arms was a tiny saurian girl, she had slimy pale skin, black glossy eyes, and she was nothing more than five or six. But then, her appearance morphed drastically, she became a woman grown and nothing more than a newborn, all at once. There were other people too, although they seemed to be shapeless. They all had black scales and their eyes glowed a blue that was a shade of the sea.

…

His cloak? It was simply another piece of cloth fueling the fires.

* * *

**9021 B.M.K.**

"Jade?" He asked, his hands lightly knocking on the door.

"Coming," She said from within the room, her voice slightly muffled. He waited, his tail wagging nervously. It was strange, every time he tried to calm it, it refused to listen to him, and the last time he had had absolutely no control over his tail, he was no more than six years old.

She opened the door.

"_This is going to go absolutely horribly, isn't it?" _He said to himself.

"Jade!" He said as she opened the door. "I… this isn't a bad time, right? I can come back later, if you'd like."

She looked him up and down, and after completing her assessment she said: "Are you alright? You look like you just ran across the entirety of the koliseum," There was genuine concern behind her voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. J- just nervous, is all."

"Nervous? What for?"

"Well… see, I came h- here t- to ask you if you wanted t-," He stopped himself, realizing he was stuttering. "If you wanted to… go to Shao Khan's… gathering, with me?"

"I'd love to."

"I mean… I want to-" It felt as if a hand pressed against his mouth, beckoning him to be silent. "I want to court you…" He felt his tail lash out behind him.

"It's about time you asked, you know," She said, her face soon turning to a smile.

In most other cases, he would've raked his mind for something clever to say. But this time, he was so happy he only asked her for a few seconds.

She answered in the positive.

He ran down the hall, jumping and howling in delight. He pounced and clung to the ceiling where he swung from his hands and feet as if he were in the swamps of Zaterra. He was so loud, that once again Motaro opened his door. With pale white eyes streaked with red, the centaurian groaned.

As he noticed this, he ran back towards Jade's room where she was waiting for him.

"I will… meet you here."

"Right, goodnight, Viper."

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

He stood.

"_Heavy is the weight on your shoulders?" _Viper looked upon his revenant form in disgust.

"I need some fresh air," He said, finding his way out of the palace. His steps being uncharacteristically unbalanced. Even though heat and fire had never bothered him, he felt like he was about to be baking in his cloak.

"_Take it off, then, Viper," _His revenant version said.

"_Please… just… stop."_

"_Why? I'm only being truthful with you, haven't you ever felt the itch to just rip it o-"_

"_Don't you even finish that sentence!"_ Viper looked up to the side of a building, and started to climb it, as if that would distance him from the voice.

"What is he doing?" A woman remarked.

"Elder Gods save him, he's lost his mind," Another one of the smallfolk said as they watched him scale the wall.

"_As long as this gets me away from him…" _He thought to himself. But, as he looked to his left, he could see his revenant climbing with him.

"_You know… it gets a little hurtful when you try to run from me," _The voice said.

"_Why can't you just… leave me alone?" _Viper asked as they reached the top of the building. He sat down, pushing his head into his arms. For the first time in days, he slept while he quivered in a cold that defied the heat of the sun.

* * *

**22 A.M.K., Orderrealm**

Kano sauntered through the grass of the lowlands. Hotaru was always in front of him and he never spoke, although that was fine. It was strange to Kano, how the lowlands were mostly uninhabited.

"_The man's unbearable," _Kano thought to himself, in fact, the entire realm was quite horrible. Outworld was more to his liking. There was order, but its deepest recesses proved that a cutthroat could happily operate there.

He scratched his chin, thinking about who he was going to break out of prison.

"_Tremor for certain," _The man had the ability to control the earth itself, and not just the base element. He had control over metal, crystal, and lava.

"_Tasia and Jarek would be useful… but if it's too much trouble…" _They were psychotic killers. And while Kano had rarely met a lunatic that he disliked, Tremor was a much better target.

"_Wonder if any rebels are stuck in this place…" _Kano's mind turned to Darrius, the man wasn't an outstanding fighter, but if there was one thing he knew how to do, it was getting a crowd riled up.

"We are here, Kumo," Hotaru said. "I shall talk to the warden, interrogate the Black Dragon at the wardens room. If you would like to investigate, you may do so.

"Right."

Kano entered into the center of the pyramid where most of the prisoners were. After a few moments Hotaru and he went their separate ways. Kano hurried over to the top of the pyramid. Once he got there, he looked up the rebel Darrius on a list. He was near, but in a high security cell. When he got to Darrius' private cell he saw a man sitting behind an orange translucent field of energy.

The man had curly brown hair that was greying, and a beard that was following in its footsteps. His skin was dark and unlike the other prisoners he was shirtless, with what seemed to be a brand on his chest. The marking was made up of eight arrows that came together in the center. When Kano got closer, two other guards posted around his cell stopped him.

"We're sorry, but you mustn't come any closer," One of them said. In response, Kano uncloaked himself, unsheathed his knife, and cut the closest one's throats. The other guard tried to call out, but before any sound could be made, he was killed by a concentrated laser blast.

"You have my attention, but… who are you?" Darrius spoke.

"I'm with the Black Dragon."

"I see. If you're looking for a way to get through the field, check the guards you just killed," Kano complied, and on one of the bodies was a blue sphere.

"Any more advice, mate?" He said holding up the supposed key.

"There should be a hole on the wall, put the sphere into it. You should probably hurry, though," Kano knew what he meant. In a place like the Orderrealm, even if it was in a private room, it wouldn't be long until more guards showed up. He did as Darrius instructed and like he said, the field disappeared.

"Right, and your name is?"

"Name's Kano, I'm breaking out some of my people and I figured I'd need your help."

"Ah, the Black Dragon prisoners? I'll help you get them free."

"Why stop there? Ya like chaos, don't you? I'm planning on getting the rest of 'em to Outworld."

"Outworld? There's nothing for me there. It's ruled by a man who's obsessed with order."

"But if you go there, you'll be helping Mileena, and she'll be much more appreciative of your help. So much so, that she could help you take over this realm," Darrius seemed to smile at that. But they had to get going, soon guards would come back to their location. Kano recloaked himself and devised the plan. He would pretend Darrius was to be lead to the control room, where he would free inmates, cause disarray, and help his teammates escape.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper woke up. His eyes took in the low light of the night. After the blur and disorienting sleep wore off, he could see. He lay down on the rooftop, although once he did, he heard a small gasp. When he turned to see who had made the noise, he saw an old lady. She was wearing a muted red, and her hair was a shade of silvery white not many outworlders lived to possess.

"I can leave if you'd like me to…" He said.

"No, I was only coming up to the roof to give you," She paused, and held up a blanket. "This," She finished.

"I give you thanks… but, I'm fine."

"_When someone's quivering and shaking in a heat that is often considered smoldering… one is not fine," _His inner voice said. Viper had figured it was only a matter of time before it came back to him.

"Would you like to come downstairs?" She asked.

"You're very kind…" He hadn't asked her name.

"Blanche, if it please you," She said.

"Blanche," He continued. "But, I think I'll be more comfortable here."

"You know, my husband and I would be glad to have company tonight. Our children moved to another district decades ago."

"Once more, I thank you for your courtesy, and I thank you for checking up on me while I slept, but I would be happier alone right now."

She left at that, and as soon as she was away from him. He felt arms wrap themselves about his neck and chest. He thrashed a small bit, thinking it was the voice once more, but when he took in his surroundings completely, he soon came to realize who it was. As the familiar smell returned to him, his hands slowly dropped to the gem of the necklace, where nine thousand years ago, he had traced the carvings.

* * *

**9021 A.M.K.**

"You…" She trailed off. "Are wearing something other than the cloak."

He had on a red robe, the kind that was typically worn in the courts. The sleeves were long, big and at their ends were an intricate black pattern. The style repeated itself at the bottoms of the mid-section and at the lower-most reaches of the robe itself. He still had a hood though, and it had the enchantment his cloak had.

She was wearing green, as she typically did. And joining the familiar color were black boots and gloves, the kind that left her fingers uncovered. The majority of her outfit, mainly the torso and aforementioned wear, was brimmed by gold. Her hair was tied into a braid, one that hung past her waist. Most days, she would leave her face visible, but tonight she had obscured it. Her mask was also green, with what seemed to be two golden snake fangs embossed onto the front. Her eyelids had a familiar red eye-shadow on them, the same kind she wore the first day they met.

"You look… nice," Viper said, already feeling the nerves crawl up his scales.

"Think I should wear this more often then?" She said, already leaving her chamber to walk with him.

"I got you some flowers…" He held up a bouquet of bittersweet nightshade. "I thought roses were too… suggestive, and although I'm not sure you have a favorite flower, I always see you stop to look at these whenever we're walking together in the gardens around the palace and I just…" He stopped himself before he began to talk her to death.

"Do you like them?" He finally asked. She took them into one of her hands.

"Thank you, it was very nice of you" She took hold of his arm, and they walked off together. His tail started lashing out, and almost seemed to be searching Jade's body for something to grab onto. He attempted to take control of it again, but each time he regained power over it, it broke out. Eventually, it decided that her braid was similar enough to a tail and attached itself to her.

"Your tail is… happy to see me?" She said as she looked back at what was pulling on her hair.

"Give it a moment it'll stop… I hope," He mumbled that last bit.

"I don't believe I've seen it do this before," She said stifling a laugh.

"I know… last time I didn't have any control was when I was…" He thought for a moment, the idea of him 'becoming a man' being very uncomfortable to recall.

"Ah, there we go!" He said with relief, as it finally let go of her hair.

"Well then, shall we continue?" She said as her hand reattached itself to his arm.

When they got to the throne room, no-one noticed them. It would've been taboo to be in a relationship with a fellow member of the court. But, Sindel Khanum appreciated being able to let her court members celebrate, and the rest of the members knew that Viper had been spending much of his time with Jade, so to have seen them arrive together wasn't a strange sight. It was so normal that, a few men – Rain – approached her and asked her for a dance.

"I'm fine, thank you," She said.

"Why? You're not here with him are you?" Rain would say.

"No, but even if she was she wouldn't be able to dance with you."

"Why is that, Viper?" Rain.

"You're the only one here that's prettier than her," Viper said, smiling.

"Not true," She said, nudging him in the arm.

"What?! Look at him, you may be a beautiful woman, but… he's Rain!" The edenian prince refused to move.

"Well, this may be hard for you to believe, but… you're wrong," Jade said. He thought for a few moments, thinking of what to say next.

"You're right… Motaro is much prettier than both of you," For once in his life, Rain seemed to be deterred by their words.

"Maybe later, I'll get the chance to change your mind," She whispered, smiling devilishly.

"You could get the chance to prove it now if you didn't have a mask on," They laughed and she tightened her grip on him.

"Is that an invitation?" His smile grew, he wasn't entirely sure how to respond due to his… inexperience in the romantic field.

"If my tail is any sign… then…"

She took hold of his arm once more and nearly dragged him over to a table.

"I never see you doing much at these gatherings," She said, sitting in her chair.

"Not much I was interested in," He said. Although some of the best food was free for, like many reptiles, his metabolism was incredibly slow, making him usually only feel the need to eat once every two weeks.

"Reptile's always trying to get you to celebrate with the rest of us," She reclined in her seat. All the while she was talking, he was watching her. Viper felt a strange urge to rip off the mask she was wearing, he was itching to see the rest of her face.

"Hmph, trying to get me to drink with him," He said, still focusing on her. Slowly the nervousness disappeared, he grew a bit calmer to be near her.

"_We're going to find some way to mess this up spectacul-"_

"_Silence," _Viper commanded. The inner voice didn't even argue.

"Is that so?" She got up, and walked over to the food table.

"Don't force wine down my throat," He said from their table.

"I'm not going to force it, I'm just going to… persuade you," She said, walking back with a bottle.

"Is that the wine Shao Khan drinks?" He said, holding it in his hands.

"Well of course," She said.

"You expect me to drink all this?" He said, his eyes turning to the throne. In it was the emperor himself, his eyes glowing through the darkness his mask cast. Next to him was, in what was somewhat of a comical contrast, Sindel. She was nearly three feet shorter than him, even in her throne. Her hair was draped over her lap, the gray slowly starting to take over the black. Not from age, but from stress.

"Afraid you can't?" Jade said.

"Said the edenian to the three-hundred pound saurian," He said as he turned it around in his hands.

"Are you trying to get me to drink with you?" She said, resting her chin on her palms.

"Well I'm not sure, how well can you hold your liquor?" He said, handing her the bottle.

"Better than you, I'd bet," She smiled as she took it into her hand.

"Then what are you waiting for?" He was going to have a lot of fun that night.

* * *

**9021 B.M.K., A few minutes later…**

Jade watched him drink another cup. She was on her fifth, but by then she had felt the beginnings of a sensation called drunkenness moving around her mid-section.

In the minutes they had started drinking, he grabbed himself a bowl of food, although it didn't look very appetizing to her. He was eating noodles, and while that part was fine, they were saurian in design. And when a food was meant for the walking lizards, it would carry not only the typical meats of Outworld, but also wax worms, amphibian meat, and tiny mammalian creatures.

"Are you… really three-hundred pounds?" She said, a little buzzed.

"Three-hundred and twenty-seven, to be precise!" He lifted another, and drank. "That's seven!" He said, grinning.

"Alright, any more and I'll be dancing on tables," She said.

"Know that from personal experience?" He said, eating some more of his noodles.

"Excuse me?" She leaned in, a little closer to his face.

"You asked me how heavy I was," Was his justification. His mouth hung open, his tongue limp in a gap between his fangs.

"I might just have to do something to that tongue of yours…" She said, leaning further across the table.

"I'd like to hear what these things are," He stifled a laugh, noodles practically gravitating towards his mouth.

"Alright, alright. If we're done drinking ourselves to an early grave, I did want to ask something of you," She said.

"Ask away," He said after he finally swallowed the last of the food in his mouth.

"I want you to tell me all about… when you were young."

"Really? It's… not as interesting as you might think, you know."

"Come on, Viper. Indulge me."

"From when, what year, what age?"

"I don't know, when are saurians considered young?"

"About as long as anyone else… maybe a few years longer," He scratched his chin. "We're considered adults at age eighteen."

"Then tell me a story from then," She prepared herself.

"Eighteen? No… that year was… strange for me. And no, it's not because of 'tail troubles,'" He said. As if to prove it, he used his tail to lift the bottle of wine and pour another cup. After he had finished that, he used it to grab the cup itself.

"Fine. Tell me one from when you were… ten," She

"Ten? I'm not sure that year was an interesting one for me."

"Let me be the judge of that," She said.

"Alright then," He thought for a while, his tail lifting the cup to his mouth a few times. "My father took me to the Zaterran sea. That place is strange, they're the only waters that don't glow in the spring."

Jade pictured him as a child, he had told her of his deformity, and accordingly, she had thought of crazy ideas as to what he hid under his hood. Some of the things she had come up with were a creature with giant scales facing downward, webbed fins on the top of his head, forearms, calves, and tail.

Or a grey-skinned creature with a cadaverous appearance. In that work of fiction, his head would've been long and dark, and his mouth would've been filled with pointy black teeth and a tail that had a scorpion's point.

Some other ideas were a purely animalistic creature with long legs, short stubby arms and feathers on his head and tail. Of course, most of these were quite impossible. There were a few times she had seen him without his hood on, and while the enchantment still stuck to his skin, she could see his head was quite round.

"_Unless the enchantment blots out those details, too," _She thought to herself.

"I was scared of the sea when I was little. All I could imagine when it was brought up was the…" He stopped for a moment. "Kerosi… the leviathan, the kinds that went extinct in Zaterra millions of years ago. The skeletons that had washed up on the northern shore millions of years ago were terrifying. It's funny actually, eventually that place became one of my favorite areas in Zaterra."

"Where did you live?"

"Eastern continent, its name was Rila. Zaterra had ten continents, two of which were barely inhabited giant islands, three of which were filled by other races, and the other five were the heartland of our civilization," He took another sip of wine, and ate some more of his food. "You know, I have a map of Zaterra, if the place interests you."

"I was just thinking about the other races…" She imagined them in her head.

"Vulpines, felines, avians… all of them are in worse shape than even the saurians now," He said. After a moment of silence he continued. "I could remember, my father brought me to the skeleton of the greatest leviathan, and he talked about the mythical heroes that fought it, about how the ancient king Tatsurri used a scroll of fire to burn away the sea monster," He smiled, and took another drink.

"Do you have any other family?" She asked, wondering why he never spoke of his mother.

"My sister still lives in Zaterra… her name is Shras."

"Why do you and Reptile always use your fake names?"

"Shao Kahn must've decided they were too hard to pronounce," He said, finishing his cup of wine.

"So… what are your true names?"

"Reptile's real name is Syzoth," He said.

"Are you… uncomfortable telling me yours?"

He stopped for a moment. Fiddled with the giant sleeves of his court robe, got up from his chair, walked over to her seat, brushed away the few wisps of her hair that hung by her ears, leaned in close and then…

She learned of his true name.

* * *

**9021 B.M.K., ****A few hours later…**

"Sometimes, you don't realize how quiet it gets," She said, her hand moving to his. In the few hours before now, she had removed her mask. He smiled at the gesture, and gladly interlocked his fingers with hers. They had moved away from the loudness of Shao Kahn's gathering, Jade having apparently wanted to show him something. Although being dragged anywhere he didn't want to go was typically an infuriating endeavor, Viper didn't much mind this time. He was with Jade, after all.

The rest of the high ranking members of the court were definitely more than acquaintances, but he had never felt to make his relationship with them turn to a deep friendship. The rest of the people Shao Kahn had appointed were simply advisors, shipmasters, bankers, minor lords, and even concubines. Those were ones he actively estranged himself from, despite the fact that they made up 70% of the court and, during certain occasions, he had to interact with them. He shook the thought from his mind and turned his attention back to Jade, who was dragging him to what seemed to be the city gates.

"You know, sometimes, when I would complete an assassination… I'd retreat to a safe area, sit, and watch the stars," She said.

Viper could imagine it. In fact, he was doing more than imagining. Every second he was trying to take in everything he could about her facial features. When they first met it frustrated him a bit, he usually didn't have to study a person more than once or twice to memorize how they looked. And even though Jade wasn't an exception to the rule, he still couldn't tear his vision from her. Looking at her, simply made him happy.

"Aren't you going to ask me anything? Like, 'where are we going,' or 'what did you want to show me?'"

"I… don't want to have the surprise ruined," He answered, grinning like an idiot.

They continued through the city, the stars and moon mostly obscured by the buildings. She lead him to the city wall where, instead of talking to guards at the entrance, he offered her his back.

When they had gotten past both sides of the bulwark, she grabbed his hand and hurriedly lead him further away. His grin turning to a hushed cackle as they continued jogging towards wherever she had in mind.

Finally, she stopped.

They were just short of a forest. Viper knew the one, it was full of trees with faces.

"Remember what I said earlier?" Jade said.

"About the stars? Yes, why?"

"Sometimes, when there aren't any assassinations, I like to come out here," She pointed to the brightest star they could see through the bare branches. "Right there, I always look for that one, whenever I'm away from the city."

"That one?" He pointed. He could remember the discussions on astrology he had had with the seidan, especially Hotaru. "They say that in every realm's sky the brightest of all the stars, this one for example, is the physical representation of the Nexus."

"The Nexus… where the realities meet?"

"Yes."

Her grip on his hand tightened. When he went to take another look at her he made note of her eyes. They were still green in the low-light, but while to many they may have seemed paler and greyer, for some reason to him, they almost seemed to be glowing.

"You should've seen the stars in Zaterra," He said.

"Oh?" She responded, turning to him.

"During most of the spring nights, the swamps would radiate this glow, it would change every few nights. When it met the setting of the sun, and the rising of the moons…" He trailed off, his mind focusing on that image for a few moments.

"Moons?"

"Yes, we had multiple… but when they were all present, when the sun was just hitting the horizon, and when the swamps glowed… it was amazing to look at.

"I'll have to go there some day," She said.

"The view was amazing," He said. "But… it's long gone."

He was silent for a few moments.

"You remember that mission we had, in the jungle?" He said.

"Yes, why?"

"I… I never told you, how much what you said meant to me. The way I felt was… ineffable."

* * *

**22 A.M.K., Orderrealm**

The door to the control room opened, revealing two people protecting it. Kano, who had recloaked himself, explained the same lie he had fed all the other guards, and proceeded to slit their throats when they weren't expecting.

"Right, how do I open the cell doors?" Kano asked, uncloaking himself again. "I'm guessing that just blasting them with my eye might ruin the whole process?"

"Correct… give me a moment," Darrius dug through one of the guard's armor pieces. "Here," He held up a red orb, and a wakizashi he had taken from one of the corpses.

"So… put that in here or something?" Kano said, pointing to a cavity in the control panel.

"Yes, and after we do so, we have to get to the warden's office, fast. Luckily for us, it's quite near."

"Good," Kano put the red sphere into the cavity.

"Now, turn it to amplify the effect," Darrius instructed.

"Right, let's get out of here before the warden finds out what we did and sounds an alarm."

"Not if we set it for him," Darrius walked to the intercom. He spoke. "Hello my fellow rebels! Today, you have been set free, today, you have been given a chance. A chance to give this world individuality, to help me, Darrius make this realm as powerful as it could be! And we owe it all… to the Black Dragon!"

After that, they dashed out, with Darrius telling him where the warden's office was. When they found it, Kano rerouted some of the extra power from his artificial heart into his cybernetic eye, and an amplified laser beam broke through the door to the warden's office.

Right as the room opened to them, Hotaru nearly stabbed Darrius with his naginata. But, the rebel was able to hold him off. Kano dashed into the office where he saw Tremor, the only one the guards weren't actively interrogating at the moment. He hadn't changed much, besides his prison outfit. He was never one to have grown hair, and he still managed to keep his physique in peak condition, now all they needed to see was if he kept his powers.

"Kano?!" He said.

"Tremor! I'm here to break you out of this place!"

"I've been in here, for nearly three years!"

"Right, and luckily we don't have to bake a cake to celebrate that!" Kano yelled over the blaring noise of the alarm as he sent a concentrated blast through the bonds that were blocking his abilities. Tremor was free.

At that moment, the warden came out of one of the interrogation rooms.

He called upon his powers and he conjured up earth. First his arms were made of stone. Then they became metallic. Then red and black liquid started to emerge from the grooves between the earth. And finally his forearms became green and crystalline. He sent forward the elements that made up the earth and they killed the warden before he had any chance to start fighting against them. The stones hit the poor man square in the chest, and then the crystals cut through the exposed parts of his skin, next the metal nearly knocked him down, and finally the lava made him combust.

When they turned to see Darrius on the losing end of a fight with Hotaru. Tremor called upon a similar trick, he sent forward all four components of the earth. the lava separated the two of the fighters, the stone was the first to hit its mark though, slamming into the seidan guard's side. Hotaru attempted to return fire, but the metal chained him to the ground, and the crystal slammed into his face, leaving him unconscious.

"Thank you. I recall you were named Tremor," Darrius said, his chest suffering a few cuts from the previous battle.

"Tremor," The Black Dragon confirmed.

"Alright, do you know where Tasia or Jarek are?" Kano said.

"In the interrogation rooms, but I don't know how to open them," Tremor said.

"I know how to, follow me," Darrius ran behind the warden's desk and searched for another orb. He pulled out an orange sphere. "Give me one moment, please."

After a few seconds, the orb emitted some form of energy, and soon two doors, one of which the warden walked out of, opened. Darrius went into one of them, while Kano and Tremor went into the other. Tasia was chained to a desk, and when she looked up she said: "Took you long enough."

A guard leaped out of the shadows, but Kano tackled him before he could do anything. He shot a beam out of his eye and it burned through the guard's chest.

Tremor, in the meanwhile had been able to free Tasia from her bonds. Taking in her appearance, Kano realized how she had changed. She used to have short dark brown hair, but it had grown down to her waist in the time it had been left unattended, and there were a few stress lines adorning her face. She, like Tremor, had apparently managed to keep herself in good shape. Hopefully, she could still teleport, even if her abilities had only allowed her to do so at short distances, it was useful.

"Ya still good with a sword?" Kano asked.

"Is that even a question?" She responded, smirking at the fact that she was finally free.

"Good," Kano dashed to Hotaru, who was still unconscious, and took his ninjato. He handed it to Tasia, and when they entered the other room, Darrius stood there, blood soaked on his hands. Jarek was chained to the table, he reclined when he saw Kano and expressed a similar relief as Tasia's.

They freed him, and once they were all out Kano explained the rest of his plan to them.

"Alright, I came here alone, but I did contact the other members of the Black Dragon. Kira, and No-Face will be w-"

"What about Kobra?" Jarek interrupted.

"Kobra's dead, Erron Black killed him. But, that brings me to my next point! Kira and No-Face'll be waiting at…" He took a look at his communication device. "These coordinates," He showed them. "They'll take you to Outworld where you'll be helping Mileena… and that means you get to rematch a certain Osh-Tekk…"

"What about you?" Jarek said, although he smirked sadistically.

"I'm not going to Outworld just yet… but I'll get there eventually. Tasia, can you still teleport?" He said scratching at his dark grey beard.

"Yes, although I'm not sure I can get us out of here…" She trailed off.

"As long as we aren't dead by the time we're out of here, I'll be fine," Tremor said. With that, Tasia started to channel her power, a yellow blast enveloped them and when they became conscious of where they were again, they were much nearer to the entrance. There was a door in front of them, and Tasia was too tired to teleport again. So, Kano blasted it open with his laser beam.

The outside had changed to a frigid temperature. In the middle of the cold was Kira. She was sitting, cleaning her knives that were covered in blood. She was wearing a red jumpsuit, and her typically blonde hair had been dyed to be the color of blood.

"I thought I told you to wait," He responded.

"You're getting slow, Kano," She said.

"I'll say, it took you six years to get us out of this place!" Tremor exclaimed.

No-Face walked up, he was responsible for the frigid temperature and frozen guardsmen. His voice was cold and slithery and he had on an orange and black elemental-proof suit. His face had no distinct features, instead being completely pale and mostly flat. He had never talked much, but that was fine, flamethrowers attached to his back did the talking for him. Strange thing was, instead of using them for fire, he had a rather unique power.

Thermokinesis.

The only weakness to this ability was that he needed intense heat, which was why he had flamethrowers, to create and manipulate ice, which was the element he could truly control to his every whim.

"Well…" Kano trailed off, seeing the dead bodies of the guards. This was one of the few times he had actually enjoyed being disobeyed, but his mission was still the same. "Get the rest of the Black Dragon out of here, they'll help you in Outworld. Oh and, bring Darrius with you."

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"_Do you need reminding?" _The voice said.

"_Of what?"_

"_Of the power we had… don't you remember? Can't you recall, the feeling of flames erupting from our scales?"_

"_You've talked about that enough, now please… stop."_

"_What are you gonna do if I don't?"_

"_Wait and see," _Viper shot up, and thrusted his palm into the apparition's face. He disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

Viper stood at the edge of the building. He never lost his balance, but there was a strange calling to leap from the edge. He could recall when he was younger, maybe in his early nine hundred thousands, saurians would jump from the rooftops. They were nearly doomed, and sometimes the zaterrans would get into such a deep depression they would decide it was better to die than to see themselves go extinct. Viper was now where thousands of them had stood. He could hear the vague voices. Their words were estranged and remote in his ears, a bare suggestion of something long gone.

"_This is what I'm talking about, teleportation, true pyrokinesis, not that __**shit**__ you were practicing before."_

"_Our father taught us that you insufferable fiend!"_

"_And yet, you're so scared of it… Quan Chi took away that fear…"_

"_I… I wasn't scared of it after that spring in Zaterr-"_

"_Either way, you refuse to use it now and back then, after the 'spring in Zaterra' you were never as strong as I was. It just goes to prove how scared you really are… without me, you became the very thing you hated! You became weak, the same helpless boy you were when our mother was hitting you across the face!"_

"_You're the only thing I hate!"_

"_Really?! What about Kotal, or speak of the devil, our mother!"_

"_I'LL KILL YOU!" _The voice laughed, and seemed to teleport once more as his claws ran through the purple smoke that was left behind. After he realized he had missed, the saurian ran across the rooftops of Z'Unkarah, his agility ensuring he would be fine in his jumps and twists. Finally, he was left alone, the very thing he had wanted.

The final thing that entered his ears was a single sentence.

"_You've got quite the heart of ice, for a man who hates the cold."_

* * *

_A/N: ;)_

_Well, I included some 3-D era characters in this chapter because I felt like they were a bit under-utilized. Anyway, I tried to give them some new powers and a more defined purpose as to why they exist._

_No-Face was kind of just a psychotic killer in special forces, and I felt like if Kira really was so fond of taking big risks, it should've been incorporated into character rather than being relegated to a random piece of trivia._

_Either way, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter._

_Sincerely, The Swampian_


	9. Sunset

_A/N: :3, enjoy!_

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

"You seem to know this 'Kano' intimately," Li Mei said.

"Not the word I'd use, but yes, I chased him for years until he escaped to Outworld after Shinnok's invasion," Sonya said, her mind focused on the image of Kano. If she could just get her hands wrapped around his neck… she forced herself to stop.

"Why would he return now?" Kenshi stood next to them. He was blind, and the grey hairs that populated his chin and scalp made him seem like an easy target.

But… he wasn't.

"All that matters is he's…" Her gaze turned to one of the outworlders in the crowd. She was exactly like the one they had found dead on the outskirts of the camp. Kano was getting sloppy.

"… Caught. Gotcha," She gave the sign to Kenshi.

Once she saw what was happening, the outworlder moved along, her head pointed downwards. But, Kenshi 'accidentally' bumped into her.

"Are you lost?" He said. It was only a matter of seconds before Sonya had closed in on their target, and soon 'she' was trapped. 'The outworlder' revealed themselves to be Kano, and with the same annoying tone he always had, he said: "Hello, love! Been a while!"

"Not long enough," Sonya talked into a communication device and ordered for MP's to her location, but Kano piped up again.

"Aw, let's keep this between friends. A trade! Info for freedom."

"I don't negotiate with scumbags."

"Well then… if mother won't play nice… maybe daughter will," He smiled sadistically.

"If you ever…" She started.

"Back off… and all's well. Piss me off… and Cassie's gonna meet Uncle Kano," He walked right up to her, confident in his bribe.

"I swear to god I'll kill you," Kano stood there for a few more moments, expecting to go free at the mentioning of Sonya's daughter.

But, instead, the general punched him right in the nose. When he recoiled from the blow, she jumped into the air and slammed her boot into his face. When he recovered he unsheathed his blades and threw one of them. Sonya dodged it, and when she took her stance again she prepared to punch him. Kano, however, reacted much faster than she had expected and bear-hugged her. His cybernetic strength was impressive, but she was able to break free by shooting a pulse of energy from her gauntlet.

She aimed for him with the same weapon she had used to escape his grasp, but he had managed to roll himself into a ball and launch himself through the air. Sonya braced for impact and was able to stop him. Once they pushed off of each other, Kano's eye started to glow brighter, but before he could shoot any laser beams, Sonya shot him with another pulse of energy. The cybernetic part of his face fizzled and glitched as he frantically tried to stop it from setting on fire.

"No… I'm not done with you," She said as she walked toward him. She kicked him in the face, and then punched him twice. Next, she carried out the thoughts she had previously, and wrapped her hands around his neck, choking him.

"Alright… alright! Get off of me!" He said, desperately.

"Sonya! Ease up!" She had had no idea when her ex-husband, Johnny, had arrived at the scene, but she didn't care. Finally, Kano was in her grasp.

"You kill me… never find… amulet!" He said.

"Move, move, move!" The sounds of a few soldiers broke the strangely silent event.

"Sonya… we need that info," Johnny said.

_"No, we don't!"_ Sonya thought to herself, Cassie had told her that the Kollector had talked. Although, it was undeniable that if two of Mileena's officers were to talk, the info would've been much more reliable.

After a few moments of silence, Johnny spoke again. "Sonya. Don't make this another thing you'll regret."

_"Damn you, Cage!"_ Sonya said to herself.

As she took the pressure off of Kano's neck, she felt a strange relief. She rose next to Johnny who assured her she had made the right call.

"Talk!" Was her last order to the cutthroat.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

D'vorah was with Cassie in the Kuatan Jungle. It was annoying, how persistent the brat was. To temper her urges, she pictured her ovipositors impaling the young earthrealmer.

The girl's mother had told them of Kano's information, and when it matched up with Kollector's, they had gone to investigate the green hell for Mileena and her rebels.

They weren't the only ones though, there was a frontal assault planned as well. The bulk of the soldiers were being led by Ferra & Torr, as well as Jacqui Briggs and Kung Jin. Which left a small portion of warriors to defend the city. Of course, Kotal Kahn himself, the two saurians Viper and Reptile, and Erron Black were also there, but D'vorah didn't much expect them to get into any fights.

Her ovipositors twitched once more, they were eager to unleash themselves, the pierce the skulls of her enemies. As the next few hours passed, they had finally found themselves at the encampment.

"There," D'vorah said, seeing Rain and another tarkatan walk through a tent. Once the edenian was alone, Cassie jogged up to him, her gun extended. Soon, D'vorah joined her.

"Here to surrender, traitor?" He said as D'vorah ran up to him.

"You would speak of treason? This One knows you desire the throne. Why serve Mileena?"

"I advise her. Stealing the amulet was my genius. It kills her a bit each time she uses it."

"As both sides diminish, you fill the void," D'vorah said with a tone of hatred. Although to be completely honest, she admired his plan.

"Exactly my plan," He said, completely ignoring the gun next to his face. But right as they were ready to fight, another kombatant revealed themselves. Tanya jumped across the battlefield and attacked D'vorah, and Rain turned and wrestled Cassie to the floor.

A gunshot sounded across the stream they were in, and their battle had started.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Tremor waited outside the walls of Z'Unkarah. He could remember the day when the shokan invaded. He went out there, spread his arms across the ground and caused a massive earthquake. It was a difficult thing to pull off, although it helped that the surroundings of the city were entirely a wasteland. He always found that desert was the easiest type of earth to bend to his will.

With him were his teammates Jarek, who was inhumanly loyal to Kano; Tasia, who was a woman he was proud to have fought beside; No-Face, a talented murderer and silent man; Kira, who shared many of her interests with her aforementioned companions. The only one among them who wasn't a part of the Black Dragon was Darrius, a chaotic and rebellious man.

Nitara had recently briefed them on the mission, but none of them had listened much, no need for tedious whys and hows.

"So… who are we expecting," Kira said, sharpening her knives once again.

"We saw D'vorah, Cassie Cage, Kung Jin, Jacqui Briggs, and the two symbiotes left," Jarek said, having been the only one who memorized their names from what Nitara told them.

"How are we doing this?" Tasia said, she had cleaned herself up, cutting her hair back to its typical short length.

Darrius had shaved his head and chopped his whiskers to a goatee. The man had a weird style considering they were in the heart of a wasteland. He wore a black trenchcoat, and from the concealments of his sleeves, he carried two katar blades, almost as if he was a tarkatan. The only supernatural ability that the man had, one which only became apparent to Tremor recently, was that he was capable of shapeshifting into a leopard.

Jarek had done something similar. His hair was cut much shorter and spikier than it once was, while he completely shaved any sort of beard he had grown.

Tremor hadn't changed much during his time in prison so, besides his clothes, he didn't change much of his appearance. Instead, he had spent his time practicing his terrakinesis.

"Tremor, you got an idea?" Tasia asked. He was silent for a minute and then decided that the best route would be to break the very foundation of the bulwark surrounding Z'Unkarah.

"Tremor, answer the question," Kira spoke.

"No… Give him a minute, he won't disappoint," Tasia said before cautioning them to go to higher ground.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Erron Black sat by Kotal's side, and across from Reptile. Viper sat at the other end of the table, the cowboy to his left, the other saurian to his right.

_"Look at him… his blue-painted skin, his scowl… he's pretty sexy when he's angry,"_ The voice said, enjoying his remarks.

Viper, in the meanwhile, said nothing.

The emperor had a meal cooked for them. But, while the other three of them were eating, Viper felt no hunger.

_"We should kill that osh-tekk… watch the blood slowly pour from his neck and into his food… the pig…"_ Viper ignored the voice, his mind was elsewhere.

Jade's face had been strangely hard to remember. As he desperately tried to recall her, his claws slowly tore into his scales but… he felt nothing.

_"Her eyes were…" _He knew they were green, he knew it. But, all he could see was her as a revenant.

_"Her skin was… no… It wasn't grey."_ The image kept forcing itself into his mind. As his claws fully pierced into one of the grooves, finally his scales felt something. The blood slowly trickled onto the table. At the moment it did, the saurian could swear that he feeling he finally had was something more than pain. It was a subtle quake in the ground.

"Viper… are you alright?" Reptile said, seeing the jade green puddle on the table. He separated his hands, the scales would shift back into place soon enough.

"I'll be fine."

"I'm quite certain that when someone is performing self-harm they're not 'fine', Viper," Reptile said.

_"How observant of him!"_ The voice.

Ermac charged into the room, Takeda by his side.

"We have sighted the Black Dragon, Emperor," Ermac said.

"What? Where?" Kotal stood.

"Tremor broke through the city wall," Ermac levitated low off the ground, green magic orbiting around his fingers as he spoke.

At the mentioning of the name 'Tremor,' Viper knew that the city was in trouble, and the subtle vibration now had a definite source.

"Erron, take some of the soldiers out to the-" Viper stopped listening at that point, even when he was in peril all he could think about was Jade.

He kept trying to piece her face together, but each time he picked up the pieces, they slipped through his fingers.

_"If Tremor is here… maybe we should let loose, you know?"_ The voice.

_"Let loose? No, I'm not just going… rip someone to pieces,"_ Viper.

_"I mean our 'other' power. Quan Chi amplified our pyrokinesis,"_ The voice.

_"We're not having this conversation, I'm not going to 'let loose' on some poor fools that decided to attack this city,"_ Viper.

When Kotal called his name, the conversation in his head quieted down slightly, his awareness increased enough to listen to the Emperor.

"Viper, join the rest of us," Kotal said as the rest of the people walked through the palace doors to find the smallfolk running like ants and a crumbling city wall.

The six of them went toward the Black Dragon, but before they could find anything, a boulder came flying through the air. Ermac stopped it with his telekinetic abilities and broke it into four smaller pieces. Tremor jumped out of the dust and ripped away chunks of the earth, broke it down into sand, and covered the warriors in a shroud.

Kotal called upon the power of the sun and slowly the dust storm dissipated, but as soon as it did, all of the Black Dragon descended onto them.

First, Kira grabbed Reptile from behind and they wrestled each other for control. Second, Tremor propelled himself into the air, his hand took the form of metal, and smashed his fist into Ermac's face, bringing them both down to earth. Third, Jarek swung his ax at Erron's face, the cowboy blocking only by the fact that he was carrying a tarkatan blade at the time. Fourth, Tasia teleported onto the battlefield, and while she was suspended in the air she kicked Takeda in the chest, sending him flying back. Fifth, Darrius unsheathed the katar blades from his sleeves and swung them at Kotal's throat. Sixth, No-Face unleashed a blast of ice at Viper, the likes of which the saurian dodged, but he wasn't finished yet. He continued to shoot frost from the flamethrowers on his back. Even though he missed, the projectiles cascaded themselves along the walls of the buildings around them.

The battle was chaotic, full of saurian claws colliding with the steel of knives, leopards and panthers trying to claw each other's guts out, bits of lava being flung around like children's toys, and acid curving along ice sculptures.

Viper was able to inch closer to No-Face, and when he finally was in clawing range, he raked his hand down the side of the man's head. He screamed in agony, but the cold he controlled became so intense, it propelled the saurian ten feet back. Viper started sprinting again, and No-Face sent more frost down his path. When it happened, the saurian expected it to be easy to dodge, easy to evade.

But for the first time in forever… he slipped.

His jaw slammed into the ice and the wind was knocked out of him.

_"You're going easy on this thug,"_ The voice.

_"What would you suggest? Fire? The man manipulates it and turns it into ice, you imbecile," _Viper kicked himself back up and dodged more blasts of cold.

_"Not if we mix it with the other magic the netherrealm holds…"_

_"I'm not… I refuse to do it,"_ Viper said as he flipped, his mouth unloading breaths of acid at the Black Dragon.

To be completely honest, it was frustrating. Viper could remember the last fights he had been in. His skills were unmatched, very few could say that they ever lived to regret challenging him. But, for some reason, a reason which wasn't the ice being fired at him, he couldn't successfully attack.

_"Earlier you were having trouble remembering your own lover's face, all you could see was her as a revenant."_

Viper jumped into the air, kicked his feet across the open air and a wide cut of acid was launched at No-Face.

_"Remember the last thing she said to you?"_

_"Don't you dare, you… despicable, worthless, insane, sadistic, horri-"_

_"Who are you? Mother? Trying to break her record for how many insults to ever have been flung at a single person?"_ The voice said, he hovered just above the ice, almost as if to say 'I'm out of your reach, Viper.'

_"I can't just… snap like that,"_ Viper said. He no longer wasn't slipped on the ice, but he still had trouble getting to a decent speed, and directing fighting was out of the equation at the moment.

_"You already disobeyed them, you know?"_ The voice.

_"Disobeyed what?"_ Viper.

_"Her last words. You had a chance with that Outworlder, Li Mei… but, like always you failed,"_ The voice.

_"I don't… you-"_ Viper started.

_"You what, don't always fail? Then prove it and rip out that psychotic murderer's throat."_

Viper all of a sudden stopped running. Instead, he loped, tearing his hands and feet into the frost to gain more traction. As he charged, salivating and thrashing his tail like an animal, he could see azure blue flames starting to break through the grooves between his scales.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

D'vorah's ovipositors stuck into the ground as Tanya kicked her back. She looked up, anger on her face, ready to kill the unbearable edenian. But, Tanya pounced and swung her naginata right at D'vorah's chest.

The kytinn opened her abdominal cavity, and the insects sprung forth from her. After they latched themselves onto Tanya, D'vorah charged, her ovipositors carrying her swiftly across the stream between them. By the time the edenian noticed, it was too late. D'vorah kicked her legs out and sent Tanya flying into a stone sculpture of a face. The earthen statue crumbled into stone and dust, but through the shroud, two kobu jutsu came flying. Tanya joined them, she shot herself forward, a yellow rocket of magic encasing her as she aimed for D'vorah's shins. Unfortunately for Tanya, however, ovipositors complicated the equation. D'vorah raised herself to dodge the blow.

As Tanya missed D'vorah lowered herself and, using her wings, grabbed the edenian. Once they were in close quarters, the kytinn lifted her opponent into the air and was planning to drop her into the canopy surrounding the stream they were in.

However, the sky slowly darkened, and with it came the crackle of the thunder. D'vorah looked down and could see that Rain had defeated Cassie. As she observed his activities she could see he was not calling upon just the lightning, but also the water in the stream they were above. Rain rose in a giant spout and when he had reached the height that D'vorah was at, he started to channel the thunder once more. Quickly, the kytinn threw Tanya into the demigod, and when he caught her in a bubble of water, D'vorah struck. She flew straight into Rain, her head slamming into his chest.

When they landed back into the stream, the demigod shot back up and sent forth a wave. It hit D'vorah in the face and sent her flying back, but after the flustering experience, she started to hover, her wings violently flapping to dry themselves. She moved quickly through the air, but Rain pressurized the water to create a sword, the liquid blade sent a cut through D'vorah's wings. She fell hard onto the ground but was able to kick herself back up and prepare her ovipositors.

They desperately stabbed at the demigod, going for every possible opening. Rain was able to keep up for a while, and eventually even got the upper hand. His palm crashed into D'vorah's chest, and she stumbled backward. But, as she recovered from the blow, she sent out the insects from her abdomen.

The creatures were zapped by a stroke of lightning, the fact that they were in a stream was of little importance to the demigod, his powers seemed to have little to no effect on him. D'vorah, however, had to leap from the water, but Rain viciously followed.

The kytinn jumped to action and thrust one of her ovipositors at his collar. Rain was able to dodge, but while he was about to retaliate, D'vorah called upon the hive one last time. Right as his fist collided with her chin, the insects took him into their grasp and brought him down to the floor, writhing in pain.

D'vorah readied herself to kill the two edenians, but the earthrealmer piped up.

"I know you said you weren't friends… but you're not killing them," Cassie was annoying as always.

"Very well. Let us go," They walked over to the chest in the tent. D'vorah, let some of the hive creep into the lock.

"D'vorah!" The kytinn turned and saw Mileena. As the former Khanum charged, D'vorah sicced the hive at her.

"This One knew you would not stray far from the amulet," Mileena tore herself free from the hive.

"You took my throne. Now you wish to steal my means of reclaiming it?"

"Neither was meant for you," D'vorah said.

"Who are you to say?! I will take something of yours… your life!" Mileena finished.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

It was strange.

Fire should be hot, it should be loud, especially if it was blue.

But no… instead, it seemed colder than the touch of an iceberg.

He pounced on the Black Dragon, slithering across the man's entire body. Eventually, when he got to the back of the mercenary, he cut the tubes that provided him with flames. When he did so, No-Face was effectively defenseless.

Viper always carried Jade's weapons with him, and her glaive was held by his tail. He quickly moved it to No-Face's neck and slit the man's throat. He flung himself from the Black Dragon's corpse.

Looking at the rest of the battle, he could see Tremor, he threw pieces of lava through the air. One of the chunks collided with Ermac. Viper loped over there, where he threw the flaming glaive from his tail. In response, the Black Dragon dodged conjured up spiked balls of crystal. He tossed all of them at the saurian. Viper jumped from one to the next and caught the glaive with his tail. Next, the saurian shot out a gargantuan ball of blue flame. Tremor rose a wall of earth from the ground, but despite the strange coldness of the fire, the rock broke into pieces. The Black Dragon was completely exposed as Viper pounced over to him. Tremor encased his fist in metal and attempted to take a swing, but he missed. With that, the saurian clawed into the stone that guarded the Black Dragon's chest. Blood soon started to appear, but finally, Tremor had collected enough of himself to punch Viper with a metal fist. The saurian recoiled for a fraction of a moment and began firing large blasts of fire, they all hit their mark.

Something primal roared deep inside of Viper's heart as he loped again.

The saurian enveloped himself in an inferno and pounced, he rolled while he was still in the air, and sent a rocket of fire from his hands, feet, and mouth. The flames coalesced and the Black Dragon further combusted. The only thing that kept Tremor alive was his unique physiology, and even then it was only barely.

Through the flames, the man gave a look that screamed he had just emptied his bowels. Using his powers, he burrowed into the ground. For a moment, Viper nearly followed, but he stopped and turned back towards the others that were fighting. Reptile had defeated Kira, but the rest were still fighting.

Takeda seemed to be doing the best in his battle, Tasia's teleportation made her hard to track, but the boy was a talented fighter, and he had some tricks of his own. He had managed to wrap his whips around her wrists, he sent out the blades that adorned the lashes. They cut her arms and when she flinched, he threw her across the battlefield.

Darrius and Kotal were still in their animal forms, but somewhere during their mauling, the leopard had been able to end up on top.

Most of the time it seemed Erron was able to keep Jarek on his toes, but the mercenary was doing a strangely good job of keeping up.

Viper lashed out at no-one, anger slowly burning in his heart. Blue flames started to burn across his entire body, and he was ready to find his next target.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

D'vorah's ovipositors tore into Mileena's skin, the cuts were shallow, but they were effective. The hybrid wailed in pain, but she wasn't beaten yet. She retaliated by teleporting, and from the air, she ran her heels into D'vorah's collar. The kytinn stumbled backward, but a stream of toxins squirted from the maw of an insect she had summoned onto her wrist.

Mileena raised her arms, and took the attack at full force. After the insect shriveled and died, the half-breed charged. Her sai were unsheathed, and they swung dangerously close to D'vorah's chest.

Mileena's sai were interrupted and grabbed by the four ovipositors, and once they had been thrown from her hand, the kytinn smacked the former Khanum across the face. But, after the initial hit, D'vorah extended a natural blade from her palm, and it stabbed Mileena in her shoulder. The two of them pushed each other away. D'vorah's ovipositors thrust at Mileena four times, but the hybrid dodged them. Next, the kytinn made use of the natural blades again, swinging them at her opponent, but the hybrid deflected the blows.

Mileena tried to kick D'vorah away, her foot lighting up in pink energy, but she narrowly missed. The kytinn raised herself solely on the ovipositors and sent both her feet out to drive the hybrid off. Mileena ducked, and then uppercut D'vorah. Her jaw stinging in pain, the kytinn kicked herself back up. D'vorah unleashed all four of her ovipositors onto Mileena at once, managing to lodge a few into her opponent. As the former Khanum separated herself, she screamed in pain. Lethargically, Mileena attempted one last attack, but right as she did, D'vorah tripped her.

Cassie left the tent, Shinnok's amulet in hand.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper chased out Jarek and Darrius. The Black Dragon's assault had deteriorated. Of the six that had first broken in, one was nearly burned to death, two was dead or close enough, and the other three were soon to be killed. Darrius all of a sudden stopped and challenged the saurian.

Viper, in response, kept loping. As he got there, Darrius tried to cut the saurian with his katar blades. In most cases, Viper would've dodged, but this time he simply let the steel hit him. The blades didn't make a clean cut, instead only chipping a scale or two. Darrius had made a fatal mistake by stopping. Viper grabbed onto the man and started to burn him away, sending blasts of blue fire off his hands and mouth. When Jarek came back to stop him, the saurian moved his face and let out a plume of fire so intense, his opponent died near immediately. Unfortunately for the both of them, they didn't have unique physiology as Tremor did, and so they simply burned away.

After their deaths, Viper stood. The fires calmed down, slowly starting to go out on the dead bodies.

He turned to see Kotal, the Emperor had judging eyes. It made the saurian angry, and he raised his middle finger in response to the look.

"Put your finger down," Kotal said.

"So, when should I expect Tasia's execution?" Viper said. The swordswoman was the only one who had survived the initial assault, at least, the only one who hadn't run away.

"Do not fling your spittle at me!"

"Coming from you that's funny. You know, considering you fling so much of it into D'vorah's mouth," He said, pushing past Kotal.

* * *

**999,990 B.M.K.**

"Father… it's watching us."

"Nothing is watching us unless you mean the fish."

"The leviathan is going to get us!"

"It's been dead for years, Zyvith."

_"Zyvith…"_ He thought to himself. It was a stupid name, one that the cloaked saurian wished wasn't his.

"Son?" His father, Suko, said.

"I want to go home…"

"Not until you swim out there and come back."

He hated today. It started horribly, his mother's typical venom had been greatly amplified that morning. He had asked her so many times, 'why do you hate me?' When her only answer was a slap to the face, he started asking his father. One day, Suko finally told him it was because of the way he looked.

That was the day, exactly one year ago he started wearing the cloak. Although his father had tried to talk him out of it, finally he relented and helped him pick a color.

"Come on, Zyvith… look at those fossils," His father pointed towards the giant skeletons that had washed up on the beach. They were scary to look at, their giant skulls imposed upon the typical privacy of the sands, and the vacant eyeholes spoke of horrors unparalleled in the swamps.

"I'll be here, I promise."

Despite his father's comfort, Zyvith hated the water. Eventually, though, he had to start swimming. His legs kicked through the blue waves, his tail helping to propel him.

He forced himself to wear his cloak in the water. It was a purple thing, the shade of which was similar to his eyes. But, as he kept swimming he was glad he wore it, the water was reflective and he had grown tired of looking at what had inspired the hate of nine years of his childhood. As he swam, he remembered the tales his father had told him. The ones about an ancient king who had faced many challenges and won glory.

The hero's name was Tatsurri. He had faced many beasts in his adventures, and while he had invaded Edenia, met Onaga, and mated with one female of each of the felines, avians, and vulpines… all of those exploits combined weren't what Zyvith admired the most about him. They said that when he was born he too was deformed. They said that his face was completely white and his eyes were left a terrifying red color. But, despite the coloration of his scales, he became a great warrior and king.

"Zyvith! Come back!" His father's voice shocked him out of swimming.

"What?! Why?!" He said, searching under him for the maw of a giant sea monster.

"You went too far, that's why…" His father started laughing, slowly swimming toward his son.

"The water isn't so scary after all, huh?" Suko said.

As they made it back to dry land, Zyvith stopped by the giant fossil. The leviathan seemed less scary, it seemed well… dead.

Extinct.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper wondered why the voice had been completely silent. Typically, it was like listening to a song. At first, it may have been nice to hear, maybe a little comforting to think that for one moment he wasn't alone. But, after a while, it became tiresome, it became a chore to listen. Eventually, it was unbearable, so horrible that he would've rather torn out his earholes than keep hearing the droll of the hellish tattoo.

As he entered into his temporary room, he looked into the mirror. He heard the voice… but it was different this time.

_"I don't think you should do that,"_ It had a red cloak, two purple eyes, and no other discernible features.

He disobeyed the voice, and when he saw himself. He had a black cloak, an indistinct face, two orange eyes, reptilian styled pauldrons, and chains restraining him like a wild animal.

He roared and punched the glass so hard, his hands started bleeding.

* * *

**228 B.M.K.**

Viper washed the red off of his claws. He wasn't wearing his ring at the moment, instead, his tail held it.

"We have a new addition to our… 'resources,'" Shang Tsung said. The man was of Earthrealm, although he acted like an Outworlder, especially when he was in the Flesh Pits.

"Well, what is it?"

_"Or who,"_ Viper finished in his head.

As he glanced at the stretcher, he could see the man was large, as tall as Viper himself. He was muscled and had a strange yellow sheen to his skin. He had tattoos on his body, the bulk of which was on the front of his chest. Viper knew the man. Even closer to the truth was… he hated him.

It was none other than Kotal.

"I am…" He paused, trying to find the right word. "Excited to experiment on him."

Shang Tsung had lived an unreasonably long life for an earthrealmer. With the recent victories at the tournaments, the man appeared young due to recent rejuvenations. But, in reality, most earthrealmers died at the age of fifty if they were lucky. Shang Tsung though… would soon be eight hundred.

Viper wasn't much listening to his 'labmate.' Instead, he was staring at Kotal. Already the thought of killing the insufferable man had crossed his mind. The saurian never was able to exactly place why he hated Kotal, although he suspected it had something to do with Jade. Not that she would commit any infidelities, one night she informed Viper that the osh-tekk had expressed interest in her, but she said she turned him down.

"We've… never had a specimen like him," Viper said.

_"Specimen?"_ Viper asked himself in his head.

"I wonder how many different the physiology of the osh-tekk is," Shang Tsung stroked his beard, eager to experiment the man.

Kotal was unconscious and completely helpless to their every whim. Knowing this, the darkest thoughts Viper had had in a long while started to creep into his head. But as he slowly imagined everything he could do to Kotal, he could remember the eyes. The ones that the children of Drimiz had. For a moment the face of the murid appeared to him. It always bothered the saurian, the fact that when one was employed by Shao Kahn, finding out his target was a caretaker of children was such a normal occurrence.

Viper never much liked the Flesh Pits. Admittedly, he thought it would be nice to conduct experiments when he was first offered the station. But, when he found out it was mainly being used to kill people, he turned cold to the idea.

"Shang Tsung," Viper started.

"Yes, Viper?" The sorcerer said, marveling in what were probably the same possibilities the saurian had imagined not a minute earlier.

"Don't kill General Kotal," The saurian said, moving the ring onto his finger. He prepared to leave for the day, but Shang Tsung had to ask why. Before answering though, Viper gave another order.

"Don't experiment too lethally on him either, he may brag of his greatness but he's far inferior to what he boasts about."

"You've neglected to inform me why," The sorcerer seemed upset.

_"He must want to kill that osh-tekk,"_ Viper thought to himself.

"You have a lot to do, Shang Tsung. Due to his surprising fragility, Kotal will be good for lighter experiments," Viper pointed to the rest of the pits.

Shang Tsung grimaced, although as he looked back at the grotesque amount of disemboweled bodies that occupied the cavern, he begrudgingly agreed.

As Viper walked out of the pits, asking himself why he had spared Kotal. Every time he tried to answer he had trouble. He had no love for the man, and his first reaction was to kill.

But Zyvith didn't want to.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

They had moved into the Kuatan Jungle. Sitting in the tent, hands bound, she looked small.

It was funny. She was barely twenty-two.

Viper moved the thoughts from his head, almost like wrenching a bug off of his brain. It crawled across the wrinkles in a desperate attempt to stay attached. But, like every bug he had encountered, the saurian eventually managed to pick it off the cerebrum and crush it in his hands.

"Enough of your prattle. Finish me… that I may join my father," Mileena said, to her credit, she was taking her execution quite well.

"You do not deserve death by an emperor's hand," Kotal paused, seeming to enjoy the power he held over Mileena.

The others in the room were the earthrealmers, Takeda, Jacqui, Kung Jin, and Cassie. Barring Ferra & Torr, the rest of Kotal's court also joined them.

Viper waited for the Emperor to finish, but when he did the outcome was much different than he had thought.

"Take her away, give her a front seat as her empire slowly is rebuilt, and make sure she lives throughout all of it," Kotal said.

Mileena wailed in anger, she preferred death over dishonor. Understandable, considering her being raised an outworlder. As she did her best to struggle against the guards, even biting one on the finger, Cassie walked forward. She informed Kotal that they would be taking the amulet back to Earthrealm.

But, after a look that spoke of great physical pain, the Emperor trapped them in what seemed to be some sort of a telekinetic attack. After a few moments of recovery, he spoke.

"Earthrealm cannot be trusted to protect the amulet. It will remain with me."

Kung Jin tried to interject, speaking of the Reiko Accords, but Kotal told him that they no longer concerned him.

Instead, he said that their squad would prove useful when Raiden came for the amulet. The guards dragged the five of them away, but Viper wasn't ready to go to some prison cell without any resistance. When Kotal was busy admiring the amulet and the rest of his court had left, the saurian broke free of his bonds and charged right for the Emperor.

It seemed the osh-tekk was ready, as he grabbed the upper and lower part of Viper's jaw. The saurian forced his teeth into Kotal's fingers, and with such a strong bite force, he was able to cause some deep gashes, but the Emperor's hold was too strong to chomp off his digits. Viper pushed himself off of the Emperor, preparing to attack him at a different angle. But, as he planned, Kotal rammed into him, and while before he would've been able to recover, this time it knocked the wind right out of him.

The Emperor seemed much quicker on his feet than before, and threw a disc of fire at Viper, the saurian attempted to catch it. Unlike their earlier bout, however, he missed and it hit him square in the chest.

Quickly Kotal unsheathed his macuahuitl and swung it. Viper was able to stop it, once it was firmly in his grasp, he prepared to use his acid to melt it. But, when he tried to spit the vitriol, none came, when he tried to secrete it from his hands, none came. Once more, he pushed himself off of Kotal, this time slamming his tail into the Emperor's cheek.

Viper tried to use the fire, and while it did work, the blue fire barely did anything to the osh-tekk. Slowly, Kotal closed the gap and grabbed the saurian by the collar.

"You know, when it became common knowledge that you and Jade were joined, all I could think about was why she would want someone like you. You, Viper, are trash. Nothing but a waste of breath… look at you, you can't even defend yourself."

His words were familiar, but while they hurt in their own way, what was most painful was when he took the necklace, ripped it off of the chain, and threw the gem away.

"Even before I knew, she told me you were someone special. I hate to admit, but it made me jealous. Although, maybe she was a bad judge in character because there isn't anything special about you."

Kotal bashed Viper's nose in, and as the saurian fell, he could feel the beating on his chest. His mind filled with vivid memories of his mother's abuse, the time his sister hurt him… and most importantly…

The spring he spent with **Her**. That one perfect spring in Zaterra… the time when he finally knew what **it** meant.

* * *

**1 A.M.K.**

It would've looked a lot like Zaterra if the water wasn't well... blood. There were giant half-eaten carcasses further along the beach, like the leviathans that once lived in the seas of his homerealm.

"What's on your mind," Jade said, her head rested on his shoulder. He turned to her, her skin was grey and earthy. Her once green eyes were now a glowing orange, accompanied by a few pulsing veins of the same color.

"Nothing," He said, holding her a little closer to him.

"You mean your homerealm then?" Viper smiled and confirmed her suspicions. Right after doing so, he pressed a hand into her face, his thumb stroking her cheek.

"I already have a home," He said, his tone completely serious.

She followed suit, pressing her hands into his face and turning it towards her. Her fingers slowly ran through the grooves in his scales. She scratched a spot on his chin, and instinctually he bellowed in comfort. For a few moments, he was quite enjoying the gesture, but after a few seconds, he freed himself from the trance and playfully grabbed her. Once she was in his grasp he lifted her into the air and then fell with her onto the sand again.

He didn't much mind being a revenant when he was here with her. Looking at the giant red sun of the Netherrealm as it set over the sea.

* * *

_A/N: Hiya! I hoped you enjoyed this, I have tons of fun writing, so hopefully, that translates into an equally fun experience for readers._

_Sincerely, The Swampian_


	10. When it Rains

_A/N: Hello! I'm sorry this took nearly two months, but I really wanted this chapter to be excellent and i didn't realize its length until 9000 words into it. Either way, without further ado, here is... When it Rains! Enjoy!_

* * *

**999,980 B.M.K.**

The red light slowly streaked across her pale, slimy face. She was laughing, which was a nice sight to see. But, he felt strange, knowing what she wanted to do with him. She pulled him into the darkness of her room, and started to undress herself. He wasn't paying attention, instead he listened to the soft patter of rain on the windows.

She pulled him onto her and when he saw _her…_ he grew nervous. But, not in the good way.

All he could think about was whether or not he wanted her to be his first. Each time he asked himself, he said no.

He stood, nervously sweeping his tail across the ground. With all her clothes removed, she stood and asked him what was wrong. He had tried everything, experimented endlessly, to feel that rush that others talked about, that rush of feelings when they saw someone they cared about. But… he felt nothing.

He didn't answer her. Instead, he sighed and awkwardly took his leave.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

He looked out the slotted window. The sky was a hard purple streaked with a hard pink that night. There were times it would look that way in conjunction with the glow of the swamp. He had described those nights to Jade before, the nights where the moons would float in the sky, casting their heavenly light onto Zaterra. Nights where the rain would lovingly bite the ground, filling the saurians with happiness.

Those… were his favorite nights.

Reptile had offered to take them to Zaterra, although he seemed to have his own plans as to what he wanted to do in the realm.

Jade was with him, her voice being a nice contrast to the loud splashing of rain against the carriage. Truth was, he wasn't really listening to her. Not that he was angry with her, and he could never hate her.

But he could still picture the night she…

Viper forced himself to stop that train of thought. His tail swept across the seats and landed in his lap, he always found it comforting to hold when he was nervous.

"Viper," Jade spoke.

"Yes?" He said, scratching a spot on his chin. There was a scale there, an isolated spot of his leathery hide, that if scratched the right way, would make him bellow in pleasure like a housecat would purr.

"I thought you'd be happy, coming back here."

"I did too, truth be told," He was sad, the rain typically would've cheered him, but he felt the melancholy that night.

"I think this will be good for you. I think it'll be… good for us," She said. "I really care about you, Viper, do you think I don't?" Her tone was sad.

He did love her, but he was scared to say it.

"I care about you too, Jade," He could've been mad at what she had done that night. But, they have been courting for seven years, he told himself. Eventually, the sadness subsided, enough that he could remind himself that she was just trying to help, and that she really was telling the truth when she said she cared for him.

"Thank you," He said, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his chin onto the top of her head. Her hair tickled his scales.

"I'm sorry… about-... you know," He pressed his chin further into her hair.

"I'm sorry, too…" She rubbed her head into his chest.

Back when Zaterra was its own realm, foreigners may have found it quite comfortable, but, alas, it was now perpetually hot. Fortunately, the springs were temperate enough for outsiders to consider the weather nice.

He took a look out her window, the view was virtually unchanged.

"You know," He started. "It's spring… you picked a good time to come to Zaterra."

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Nitara knew the situation was bad. If it wasn't, she wouldn't have been flying all the way back to Zaterra.

Her wings flapped violently through the rain. In her head, she counted off the fates of her companions. The Black Dragon were dead, the only one who had lived past the assault was Tremor, who had been seen in the Shokan Kingdom. It was a smart move on his part, they hadn't obeyed Kotal since his fight with Goro.

Rain and Tanya's fates were for the most part unknown. They were not counted among the dead, but they hadn't been seen anywhere. They were laying low, for now. As for Kollector, he was locked up in a dungeon somewhere, most likely Kotal's own palace. Mileena herself was also imprisoned, and the earthrealmers were apprehended.

Which left one question in Nitara's mind. Viper.

She had followed his carriage for hours, and when the jailors had taken him continuously south, there was only one option left that still made sense.

The Sea of Ice.

A saurian could survive the inhospitable cold for no more than a few days. Past that, it was near certain they would end up in some sort of brumation state, that was, if they could find a suitable place to brumate.

Nitara landed in front of Viper's academy, her wings soaked with the hard patter of the rainstorm. She flapped the skins free of the moisture and approached the large, almost foreboding, building.

It was then that the blade wrapped its way around her neck. The voice that belonged to it was tarkatan, there was no doubt. But even more of a hint, was that it sounded young.

"Drop any weapons you have," It said.

"I'm not here for that."

"If you're lying to me-"

"I'm not," Nitara decided to give an air of joviality to the situation. "What was your name? Karanba?"

"I don't need to answer that, wench."

"You're a real charmer, how many hearts have you broken?"

"I'm about to pierce yours, unless you obey my command," Nitara dropped her kama, and fair enough, the tarkatan was true to his word.

"Now, why have you come here?" His voice was immediately more amiable. Nitara took a few moments to press the areas of her neck that had been poked by his bone spikes.

"Little rough, don't you think?"

"You say that when you came here with Mileena?" His blades stayed unsheathed, and they weren't particularly far from stabbing her.

"About that… I brought news of Viper," Nitara said.

"What of him?"

"He's been captured. He'll be shipped off to the Sea of Ice."

"What? By who?" Karanba probed.

"Kotal. Who else would ship a saurian to the Sea of Ice?" For a moment, the tarkatan seemed small. Most tarkatans were expected to be muscled as a woman's fantasy, and while Karanba was built in his own right, he was the thinnest one she had seen in a long while.

"How far is he to that… dastardly wasteland?" He sheathed his blades.

"They'll have him buried in ice by the day after tomorrow."

Karanba motioned his hand, and out of the trees landed a girl. She was holding a longbow, and was feline in nature, a race which hadn't been seen in Outworld for thousands of years.

"Talula, get the others that sit at the high table," She walked across the bridge. As she disappeared into the building, Karanba spoke again.

"Well, we'll just have to get him before then."

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

He watched her as the rain pounded against the windows. Jade was sleeping quite soundly, the side of her face pressed into the pillow.

After he was finished staring, he turned his attention to the glass. Through it, the sky was still purple and pink, and the moon absorbed the generous saturation of color. As the outsides remained virtually unchanged, his memories reminded him of what it once looked like. The moons hung in the air, they could've been purple and blue and red and pink, whatever the sky was, the moons followed. The rain was about the same, although tonight it thundered heavily.

He opened the door to their room quite silently. Due to Jade's status as a foreigner, she was grouped into a category of people who were ushered into the old castles of extinct noble families. It was nice in those buildings; they were cleaner than any Viper had seen in his life, and the craftsmanship was divine. Fortunately for the saurian, he was allowed to stay with her.

He moved out of the building and sauntered bow-legged through the storm. Many saurians were still out in the night, most of whom recognized him as 'he who traveled with the edenian,' so they stopped him to ask if she needed anything. He moved through them without so much as a second word, he wanted to see someone.

Once he reached the outskirts of the city, he approached a relatively large house and knocked on the door. It was a few moments before it opened, but when it did, he was surprised to see a small child standing there.

"Suko! Who is it?!" A female voice rang out from within the house. It was quite familiar. But, Viper was busy thinking about the toddler's name.

"_Suko?" _He thought. _"Like… father?"_

A saurian woman ran over to the door and picked up the child. Her face shone with mucus in the moonlight, and her complexion was completely white. When she looked up, confusion colored her face.

"Zyvith?!" She gasped.

He stood, unmoving in the doorframe, his eyes flitting quickly to and fro between woman and child. "Hello, Shras…" He began after a punctuated silence, "I see you… have been busy as of late."

"I- truth be told, I never expected to see you again," She cradled the toddler in her arms. "How long has it been, brother?"

"Last I saw you? Forty-three years. Last I heard from you? Fourteen," He answered. "I wanted to introduce you to my mate." He used the term 'mate' loosely.

"You've mated? Who is she?" She looked surprised, something that annoyed Viper. He had never been one for courtship, but her gasps were...

"You remember the lady I spoke of in my letters? It's her. If I'm being completely truthful, we're more courting than mating," His tail swept across the porch's floorboards. "You named him after father, I assume," He said, pointing towards the toddler.

"Yes, I thought that that was a good way of remembering him," Viper smiled at that.

"When can I meet your mate, Zyvith?" Shras said.

"She's asleep, but I can visit tomorrow."

"Right then."

Viper took a moment to admit his feelings to himself. He loved his sister, he always had. From the moment he first held her in his arms, to the times he had to keep her quiet when their parents were away. But he resented her too, there was one memory lodged in his brain that clung to him every time he thought of showing someone his face.

"And Zyvith, it's good to see you again," She said, smiling and nervous, as he walked through the rain again.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Kotal's palace was large, that was for certain.

"_He's compensating for something," _Karanba said when he first saw it all those years ago.

"_You're right: his brain. You'd think that with such a large head Kotal'd have something comparable to a normal intelligence. But, if you think that, you'd already be thinking more than the Emperor. But, yes, his heart is quite small too," _Viper would say, his voice still fresh in Karanba's memory.

He was traveling with nine others. Eight of which were members of the high table, Nitara was the only one with him, the rest had been ordered to spread across the palace. The vampire had suggested the area because of Jade's items. Viper took them with him on his journey, but if he was to be thrown into the Sea of Ice, then it was obvious that Kotal had stolen the weapons.

They had entered through the rooftops, silently moving through the palace until they reached the display room. It was needlessly large, filled with glass exhibits of people long conquered by the Emperors of Outworld. Kotal however, was responsible for nearly half the hallway. Onaga cared not for exhibitionism, Shao Kahn simply took what he wanted, but Kotal… he enjoyed the bravado.

Karanba paid no attention to much of the great hall, only taking note of certain things. One of which, was a case holding Shao Kahn's hammer, although the rest of his armor and equipment lay somewhere else. Next to it was Mileena's sai, a testament to Kotal's 'extermination' of their bloodline. As they carried through the room, they found many remnants, some of which weren't even from Outworld: Montezuma's headdress, for one.

But at the very end of the chamber, they finally spotted a faint glow. As they ran over to it, the golden gleam of Jade's glaive peered through the glass of the display case. Karanba unsheathed his blade and began peeling away the barrier. There was something missing, though: Viper's necklace.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

"Where did you go?" Jade said, sleepily.

"To see my sister. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," He sat at the edge of the bed, his tail wrapping itself about her ankle. She liked it when he did that. His gestures of affection, aside from the typical courting activities, were often subtle but sweet in his own way.

"Really? Planning to introduce me?" She said, yawning in between sentences.

"What else would I be doing?" She felt his tail loosen its grip around her ankle, and saw him crawl into bed. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and he placed his other hand at her heart. His face pressed almost where her cheek was, and his tail coiled up her leg. She adjusted her position too, shifting herself so that she could see him more properly. He rarely slept, and even when he was with her, he always waited for her to doze off. In the mornings, he would be out of bed, although he'd never be gone.

But tonight, his eyes were closed, and his breath was slowed greatly.

After about half an hour of trying to sleep again, she heard him mumble. It sounded like gibberish at first, but the last word was clearer than glass.

"Jade."

She stopped moving for a minute.

"What?" She asked, wanting to make sure what he said wasn't just some inane form of a dream.

He smiled in response, the first time she had seen him do so since weeks ago. The first part of his speech was slurred, almost inaudible. But after that, her name was uttered.

He was speaking saurian.

She cuddled up to him, feeling his tail move slightly in his sleep. In the next few moments, she found herself resting too.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

Viper looked back every few moments to make sure Jade wasn't lost somewhere in the city. As always, she was curious about the place, but realized that most saurians didn't care to speak a language other than their native tongue.

He lead her through the buildings, and eventually stopped at the city outskirts. The land there began to become rough, and while they were still in a giant swamp, trees became a far more frequent sight.

He knocked on the wooden door, and once it opened, it was his sister.

"Zyvith," She said. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise, sister. This…" He said, gesturing to the edenian next to him, "is Jade."

Jade reached forward to shake Shras's hand. His sister reacted accordingly, but her shake was gentle and reserved.

His sister invited them in and they eagerly entered. Jade was… excited to see his remaining kin. Truth was, Viper spent most of his time looking around the house, it was predominantly wood and the living spaces of the kitchen, table, and living spaces mixed together. Most likely the top floor was composed only of bedrooms.

His musings were interrupted by the sudden presence of the boy.

"Why do your eyes look so funny?" The toddler said. For a moment, Viper felt quite angry. The question, although it carried no guile, hit too close to home.

"I…" Viper started.

"Suko, come over here," Shras called for her son. She was lucky, the only deformed member of their family that remained was Viper. He could remember his home, it was further north into whatever remained of Zaterra. Shras looked almost exactly like their mother, being here was not the best therapy.

He took a seat at the table, figuring it was rude to look around too much and leave Jade to fend for herself.

He plopped himself next to the edenian, figuring she would be asking about his childhood. But as soon as he had sat down, his sister started speaking to him in saurian.

"**You did well for yourself, finding one so pretty. Well, for an edenian, that is."**

"**You should be careful, I taught her some saurian, you know."**

"**Really?"** For a moment she looked concerned, as her secret way of communicating was obsolete.

He laughed, **"No."**

"What's so funny?" Jade said.

"**Have you and she bonded yet?"** Shras asked.

"**You see a necklace around any of our necks?"** He responded.

"**Well no, but… don't Outworlders do things differently?" **

"**Well, it would just so happen that neither of us are Outworlders," **He said back.

"Hello, Viper?" Jade tapped on his shoulder, eager to join in the conversation.

"Sorry for the saurian, Jade. It's just that my sister is quite keen on keeping her dirty little secrets."

"Say it louder, I don't think she heard you," Shras said.

"She doesn't need to hear anything to know how conniving you are, sister," He said, grinning the entire time.

Shras turned to Jade, seeming to decide it was better to not challenge her brother's wit.

"Well, let me take you two to dinner. You can see what real saurian cuisine is like," She said.

"She's already seen me eat plenty of insects, if that's what you're planning on feeding her," Viper said.

"Ah yes, the insects, and how attractive you look when you swallow them whole," Jade said.

"You seem to like i-" Jade nudged her elbow into him before he could finish, smiling. He had already thought to stop eating them once their courtship became more serious.

"I have something else in mind; a food that only blossoms in spring," Shras said.

"You're taking her to drink the nectar, aren't you?"

"Nectar?" Jade asked.

"It's from a plant, saurians drink it as a celebration of spring," Viper said.

"After drinking nectar, we also have a gathering at first light," Shras continued.

"First light?" Jade asked. "Like dawn?"

"When the swamps first start to glow, Jade," Viper answered.

He took a cursory glance out the window, it was starting to get dark.

"If we're going to drink the nectar, we should probably leave before the monkeys decide they want some too," He said.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

The drip of the water fell onto his face. His head throbbed.

"_Where am I?" _Was the only thing he could think to ask.

Viper felt for the necklace, but it had been ripped off.

"_No!" _He thought. He kicked himself to his feet, an action that sent his head spinning and intensened the pain. He ran but soon took in his surroundings, and found that it was hopeless. There was ice under his feet. Even if that weren't a problem, there was also a relatively large cage around him. He shot his acid at the metal, but just like during his match with Kotal, it didn't come.

He summoned whatever fire he could, blue as it was, it only served to cool him further.

Out of options, he sat cross-legged. His back hunched itself, and his tail sprawled itself across the snow.

He felt his hand.

"_At least you're still here," _He thought as he touched the ring.

"_You weren't talking to me? Hmph, I'm hurt, Viper," _The voice still plagued him.

"Leave me, I have no need for your taunts," He said.

"_Oh but you do, where did we leave off?" _The voice took a moment to think. _"Oh yes! Jade's last words, in conjunction with your horrible romantic track record."_

"I remember them fine… leave me," He said. He could still picture her face, luckily it was less foggy this time.

A few tears fell from her eyes, as she died.

"_I wonder what she would say if she saw you now," _The voice came into full view again. As Viper gazed into its black void of a face he could see it. Not even the eyes shone, it was empty of anything.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"You can go if you want, but I'm getting the precise plans!" Karanba said, half-shouting in hushed tones. They had gotten all of Viper's possessions, but while they had a general idea of where he was, they didn't know exactly where to look.

"We have his things! How long do you think it'll take him to freeze to death?!" Nitara argued.

"You don't know him like I do!"

"I knew him better than you ever did! He and I spent years together!" Nitara said.

"Oh really? Did he save you from the streets too?" Karanba's voice rose.

"No, but-" Nitara sighed reluctantly. "Fine, it'll be nice not trudging through miles of ice," She conceded. Karanba rose and took off to find Kotal's chamber. He eventually found two large doors, ones that were enameled with a golden sun.

Nitara ran up behind him, no guards were in the area, although considering this was the Emperor's room, they'd either be inside or coming soon.

Karanba didn't wait to find out, he pressed his ear against the door. When nothing was to be heard, he opened it. Moving like a shadow, he crept into the room. Observing the entirety of the room, it could be seen that Kotal kept his more, personal items on display in his chambers. Shao Kahn's broken and charred mask was a piece of equipment that resided by the Emperor's bedside. However, Karanba was looking for plans.

It took some searching, every moment of which was painful. Looking at the wooden and golden columns annoyed him, looking at the stupid weapons and tokens of people Kotal had 'conquered' was like rubbing a cheese grater against his forehead. Once, he had even found the skeletal remains of Goro's arms.

What was worst, was seeing Viper's broken necklace thrown into some case near the end of the room. Karanba took it out, and held it delicately. Nitara walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You'll see him again, I promise."

"I- have I thanked you yet. For telling me about him, I mean."

"It was the right thing to do," She said.

"Either way, thank you, Nitara."

They readied themselves to leave, but immediately stilled when a guttural scream suddenly echoed through the rooms. When they turned to see who had made it, they saw none other than Ferra & Torr.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

"You might need to peel that one further back, Jade."

She did as he said, pulling back the barely opaque petals of the flower. Once she had finished that, he pointed to the dozens of small pink tendrils spilling out of the center.

"You want me to demonstrate?" He asked.

"Go right ahead," She gestured for him to take it. He grabbed it and extended his tongue. It traveled to the very center of the plant, shifting through the countless tendrils. After a few moments he pulled his tongue out, glistening with the golden liquid of the nectar.

"Are you sure I could do that, considering my tongue isn't like a living snake?"

"You might have to get into the tendrils, but… I think so."

"Think or know?"

"Think. But, don't let that stop you."

She pressed her face into the tendrils, an action which was quite strange-feeling. When she finally reached the nectar, however, she found it quite sweet.

"Taste nice?" He asked.

"Is there any other way to drink this?" Jade asked. "Without the tendrils smacking my face?"

"Shras!" He called his sister over.

"What's wrong?" Shras jogged over.

Jade repeated her question.

"Maybe, I think there are a few taverns that already have this in stock," Shras lead them through the city. A few saurians gave curious looks to her, or to Viper. They probably thought he was her deformed translator.

They eventually found a building, one that had a sign. Although, what was on it was unknown to her. At least, until Viper read it to her.

"Nectar," He told her.

They walked in, the room was relatively empty, maybe a few tables had saurians. Once they sat down, Jade ordered a cup of nectar. Shras did too, but Viper didn't.

"Why aren't you drinking?" She said, putting the nectar down. "Do you not have a sense of taste?"

"No," He said, looking into the distance.

"It'd cost more, if he ordered any," Shras said.

Jade stopped drinking. She peered into her cup and after a few seconds, offered some to Viper. He smiled and took a drink before handing it back to her.

"Being a foreigner has its advantages, hmm?" Shras said.

"She sleeps in a castle bedroom, so I'd say so," Viper laughed to himself.

"That's what mother said, whenever a foreigner came to Zaterra, they'd be treated like royalty," Shras took a sip from her cup. Viper was silent.

"Really? Viper never talks about his mother," Jade said.

"Why not, Zyvith?" Shras probed.

"No reason," He said, emotionless.

"Nonsense," Shras said.

"It doesn't matter," Viper went back to his more recognizable posture, he crossed his legs and hunched his back so far that it always made Jade think his spine would break in two.

"Well anyway, mother took us to the cherry blossom trees when we were little and I-"  
"I went with father, Tashei took you there," Viper corrected.

"What's wrong, Zyvith? You're not even calling her mother?" Shras looked confused, although so was Jade. This was territory neither of them had stepped foot in.

"I don't think you'd believe me, even if I told you."

"If something's upsetting you then just tell us, we're here for you, Viper," Jade said, pressing a hand onto his shoulder. He tensed, a typical reaction to her touch, but as always, he soon calmed.

"Mother was fine to us."

"No, she wasn't."

"I get it, you're angry because you had to 'raise' me!" Shras' voice was strange, it was a yell, but it was also hushed.

"Shras, I raised you since you were fifteen, don't you **ever**, ridicule me!" Viper bit back with the same venomous tone.

Shras smiled unkindly and turned toward Jade, her words sneering. "Let's play a game, Jade. How often do you see this bastard's face?"

"Why don't you put more cocks in your mouth before it ends up getting you hurt?" Viper said, smiling wickedly.

"Stop it you two!" Jade said. Viper seemed to heed her, turning away from his sister. Shras, however, wasn't finished quite so easily.

"It wasn't like you were ever going to do anything with your life, anyway," She said.

"You must have a shit memory, Shras. Either that, or you're just plain stupid… don't you remember what I was going to do when father and Tashei died? I was going to get an education!"

"Well congratulations, you deformed, sick, son of a-"

"How about you and I go outside this tavern and I'll show you what it feels like to be deformed."

"You threatening me?" Shras said, she was tense and on edge, but put on a sloppy front of confidence.

"You don't need me to threaten you, every time you look in the mirror should be enough," Viper stood as he said that.

"Speak for yourself!"

"Oh I already have! I'm just helping you remember how horrible you were to the man who raised you!"

"Oh really?! When! When was I horrible?!"

"How about when you told me that-" Viper cut himself off, his voice grew weaker and he began hyperventilating.

"See, you're weak," She had no sympathy behind her voice, scoffing in ridicule of her less fortunate brother.

"Shras! Enough!" Jade yelled, pressing her hand onto Viper's back.

"You… you don't even remember what you said to me… do you?" He asked, his voice shifting in its tone.

"I don't remember, because I never said _'anything' _to you."

It was a long and silent walk back to Shras' home. Viper said nothing to either his sister, or Jade.

Even when Jade had gone to sleep, he simply stood at the window, listening to the rain. As she drifted off, she saw him looking at his left hand, feeling the spots of the fingers where the bones were most prevalent.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Ferra came hurtling at Karanba, her metal blades extended. The tarkatan evaded her attack, and unsheathed his own weapons. His bones swung inches away from her neck. As for Nitara, he had only the slightest idea of how she was faring. At least, until the two symbiotes reconnected. The vampire had seemed to be able to hold her own, but no significant wounds were made on Torr.

"Any ideas?" Nitara said.

Karanba thought for a moment, he had seen the two of them before. For a moment, he stopped and thought of what Viper would do, clutching the amethyst in his hand.

"Fly into the air, then pick Ferra off of Torr. I'll deal with the mindless gorilla," He said.

Nitara took off, the ceiling was high enough for her to get well over Torr's back.

She swooped and extended her arms to carry Ferra away, but the brute grabbed onto his rider's leg and pulled so hard that Nitara was nearly flung backwards from his strength. Karanba moved quickly though, and while Torr's back was turned, he pierced into the giant's shoulder blades.

They wrestled in that position for a few moments. Karanba knew that if he gave any ground, Nitara was dead in the air. He twisted his blades into the flesh of the brute's back, and slowly his grip loosened on Ferra. Karanba jumped a few feet off the ground and kicked himself off Torr's back, pushing the brute with enough force that he stumbled over his own weight. Ferra was taken from her companion, and while she wriggled against Nitara's arms, she was far too small and frail to escape from the vampire's grasp.

The only real threat left was Torr.

Karanba ducked under the swiping arms of the giant, making use of the small openings that were left for him, and cut at the brute's ribs. Torr didn't seem to feel much, and was eventually able to punch Karanba in the chest. He was sent hurtling back and would've been killed if it weren't for Nitara. She raked her nails across Torr's masked face, almost taking the cloth off of his face. He eventually grabbed her and thrust her into the ground, the brute was about to finish the deed, raising his fists to smash Nitara into a bloody pulp.

But, Karanba stuck his blades inside of Torr's mid-section. He drove them further into the giant, so far that he finally stumbled backward and left Nitara alone. Karanba stood there for a few moments, waiting to see if Torr would fall under his own weight. To his credit, he didn't. He realigned himself, taking the stance of a gorilla and charged at Karanba. The tarkatan readied himself, baring his teeth. But, out of nowhere a puddle of acid sprayed in front of Torr, and he seemed to be clawed in the face by an unseen hand. The brute was flustered, stumbling backwards. There was a flurry of punches, kicks, and claws at the giant, so fast that he would be unable to retaliate. Then Reptile made himself visible, taking off the cloak of invisibility and swept Torr's legs and sent him crashing down.

"Reptile?" Karanba asked, confused.

"You had a good idea, separating the symbiotes," Reptile walked over to them.

"You saw that?"

"Yes. Truth is, I wasn't sure who to help when I first saw what was happening," He helped Nitara to her feet.

"What made you help us?" Nitara clumsily stood.

"Kotal and I had a very special relationship," He admitted. "But Viper and I… we used to be like brothers. Still are, if you ask me. I'm not going to let him go dormant in some desolate wasteland."

"Did you kill him?" Karanba asked.

"Knowing him? Probably not, but we need to get out of here regardless," Reptile responded. "I may have slit the guards' throats but that doesn't mean I got all of them."

Karanba knew more people would be coming, and so, clutching Viper's amulet, he peeked his head out of the room and escaped with his allies.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

Viper caressed the side of Jade's face. It was, at least in his mind, a gentle way of waking her. She stirred and drowsily awoke to his touch.

"Hey," She said.

"Hey," He replied, semi-mocking her.

"What are you doing?" She said, her tired eyes scanning him.

"I have to go somewhere, Jade."

"What? Where?"

"I need to…" He thought for a moment about how he felt when Shras and he fought.

"_Be better for you," _He finished in his head.

"Are you alright? After last night?" He gazed at his hand.

"I've been through worse," His left fingers clenched.

Jade sat up, and wrapped her arms around him, she dug her face into his chest. She said something, but his scales muffled her voice.

"I didn't get that last par-" He stopped as she smiled and moved a hand to his face. It felt warm on his cheek, the same spot that she had first kissed him.

"Maybe I could stay for a little while longer," He admitted, falling onto the bed with her. They cuddled and pulled each other close. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly sure how long he stayed there with her, but it didn't matter, he enjoyed every second of it.

"I'll let you go on one condition, Viper," She said, once they were finished.

"You want me to get more nectar while I'm out?" He said, turning towards her. She yawned, and placed her chin atop her knees.

"Very funny, but no," She beckoned him closer. Once they were practically ready to fall back into the bed and begin cuddling again, she said to him: "remember that I'll always wait for you."

He walked out the door, her words echoed in his head.

It had been hours since Viper started walking, his feet shuffling around in the swampy waters. He looked up, the treetops blocked out most of the sky.

Fitting.

He longed to feel the rain, but he had no idea where he was or what he was doing. He had convinced himself that he needed to better himself, but he wasn't sure how. He pressed a hand into the bark and drank in the smells. He was far away from the city, that much was certain. He stopped for a moment, slowly regaining his sense of direction.

Scratching his chin, he could recall that Reptile had joined them for their 'vacation.'

"_Where did he say he was going?" _He thought.

When he was asked, he had said 'to the fog'.

There was only one place that fit that description. Before the land was merged, it was the westernmost continent and most of it was a graveyard. It was said that no matter where you traveled to in that place, fog would hang in the air. He wanted to be better for Jade, and he was tired of feeling sad and angry. He needed to talk to someone. While he had always assumed he just needed to spend more time with her, eventually that too made him depressed.

He needed a friend; he needed Reptile.

It was still pretty far west, where Reptile was, but considering Zaterra was a tenth of the size it had been in its glory days, it was far less taxing of a journey, especially on foot. He started on that path by climbing up the tree, and eventually poking his head out from one of the incredibly tall treetops, he could see a golden sky, filled with a few stirring birds and primates. He stood on one of the high hanging branches and began sprinting atop them.

He was going to see Reptile.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

Jade had taken Viper's journal with them. She didn't know exactly why, but holding it in her hand made her feel more secure. She opened it, a few things had changed since she last saw it. Most entries that she hadn't read were written in saurian, and the few that Viper had agreed to read to her were about nothing more than anthropology and other branches of study.

Jade was looking at the volume, turning it around in her hand as she descended the stairs to find Shras cooking something for her son.

"You want to tell Zyvith that I'm making breakfast, although I'm not sure he'd like it," That last part was in a hushed tone.

"He's gone, he left this morning. It figures you wouldn't have seen."

"Excuse me?" Shras said.

"Hmm?" Jade said as she opened to a few pages, looking at the same portraits that had inspired her to first approach Viper about Edenia.

"You have my brother's tongue, I see. Although it may have cost you your lodgings here."

"You needn't pose any consequences. I was planning on leaving soon."

"Then why are you still here anyway?" Shras asked, rushing back over to her kettle.

"Because you're going to do something for me."

"What makes you think I'll comply?"

"I'll tell you why. I wouldn't have to be here, if it weren't for you. I admit, I wanted to come to Zaterra with Zyvith, but, guess what? I didn't want to have to drag him here because I thought our courtship was going to fall to pieces, Shras," Jade's tone was cold. "So, you're going to read every entry in this book that's written in saurian."

"What if I don't?" Shras said.

"You will."

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

Viper had jumped from treetop to treetop, and for quite a while he did so aimlessly, he knew the way to the fog. It was only when the miasma hung over the leaves he started to pay attention.

"_There we go," _He thought to himself.

"_You'll just be wasting your time here, Zyvith," _Viper heeded not of the voice.

He dropped off the tree and landed in the soft dirt and moss. The fog enveloped him, but his sense of smell was more than enough to smell his way through. It reeked of death and despair, as not many people lived here and even less so after the merging.

He searched for Syzoth's smell, it didn't take long to pick it up. He ran across the moss and into the fog, eventually he found a small town with a castle sitting above it on a hill. It was dour in its composure; clinging onto the mud mountain desperately.

Viper walked up, his tongue still drinking in the smells, although with a few sniffs, he knew where Reptile was. He sprinted towards a small shack in the village and knocked loudly on the wooden door.

Syzoth opened it, his eyes were tired.

"Viper? I… thought you'd be with Jade, she's not here, is she?" He said.

"No. Are you… alright?" Viper asked.

"It's… the anniversary Khameleon's death."

Viper could remember the group of saurians that he had first worked with. They were called the agents of Zaterra, although they had served Shao Kahn. Most were dead, or assigned to parts of the Empire so far that they rarely saw each other.

Gecko. His real name had been Korga, he was the youngest of them, and was slightly deformed. His mutation had affected only his eyes, making them a shade of azure so beautiful. He had been moved to a completely different continent of Outworld. While there were only four major continents, two of which were tiny or barely habitable, the sea between them was long and arduous.

Komodai, his alias was Komodo. He died nearly five-hundred-thousand years ago, fighting in Vaeternus. He had been handsome, with green scales, an even deeper shade than Reptile's, and yellow eyes that glowed brightly. He was a man of business, rarely outgoing or outstandingly amicable, Viper rarely got into deep conversations with him.

Pythos, who was called in common tongue: Python, had been a close friend of Viper's. He hadn't been deformed in the slightest, but he was not beautiful like Syzoth or Komodai. He had a good heart. Zyvith and he had shared quite a few interests and would often spend time together in the libraries. He missed him.

The two remaining were Chameleon and Khameleon. Quite similar in name, they were easily confused. Khameleon was a woman, and Reptile's lover. Her birth name was Kirri. She was quite normal looking for a saurian woman, her face pale, her skin covered in mucus, her eyes jet black. Viper had never found anyone, Jade unincluded, astoundingly pleasing to the eye, but he had recognized the typical standards of beauty in her.

As for Chameleon, he had also been reassigned to a different part of the Empire. He had been the palest green Viper had ever seen, and his appearance, much like Zyvith's seemed to be a closely guarded secret. They hadn't heard from him in millenia; he may have even been dead.

He could remember carting their bodies all the way back to Zaterra with Syzoth. They had talked to each other the whole way, asking if they were alright, promising that they'd take care of each other. He could remember every shovel of dirt, every second they carried their friends and laid them into the ground.

"Reptile, I'm so sorry," Viper saw Syzoth wipe a stray tear from his eyes. He'd cried endlessly when it first happened. It made Viper think, think about how he would feel if he ever lost Jade. She was more than capable of handling herself and had a fighting spirit in her, but there had been many close calls over the years. Viper embraced his friend, comforting him until his tears were gone.

"Are you alright? Is there anything I can do?" Viper said, offering consolation. Reptile fell silent, his face like stone, unmoving and gloomy as the place around them.

"I'm… I'm talking to someone here. A few people actually, it's… helping," Syzoth said, looking at the floor. His face shifted to one of confusion and he asked, "Why are you here alone?"

"Without Jade, you mean? She's back at my sister's home, if she hadn't left already. Speaking of my sister, she… we got into an argument and…" Viper trailed off. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm not good enough, I feel like I can't be with Jade. Like I shouldn't be the one courting her."

"I felt that way all the time with Khameleon…" Reptile said. "She was so beautiful and smart and…" He trailed off, losing himself in thought.

"You want to come with me?" He asked.

Viper looked up.

"To those meetings, the gods know there are plenty of empty seats."

"Wouldn't I just be… you know, a burden?"

"No, you're my friend, Viper. If they have a problem with it, they'll just have to deal with it."

Viper could remember when Jade let him drink some of her nectar, when she promised not to judge him. He felt happy to be with his friends, but the void that was being without his lover was starting to gape.

"I'd love to," He said.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

"You know…" Shras said. "I'm reading this, and it's mostly about you."

"Really?" Jade peered over Shras' shoulder. Not that it would've made any difference, she couldn't read saurian. "What does it say?" Jade finished.

"Most of these are poems, which are mostly about you, but… there's this one," Shras flipped to it. "The way he talks about you here is…" She paused, "You'd think you were the Empress of Outworld."

"Read it to me," Jade commanded.

"'I sometimes enjoy just watching her. The way she looks at me, her hand covers her mouth but her cheeks tell me she's smiling. I want every second of touching her face, feeling her hair, watching the way she sleeps. I wish I could tell her that I…'" Shras examined the pages.

"Why'd you stop?" Jade asked.

"This last phrase… it has no translation. It exists only in saurian."

"Well… say it anyway," The phrase that left Shras' lips sounded familiar to Jade. It suddenly clicked that that was what he said to her a few nights ago.

"Anything else?" Jade asked. "Most of this is about his experiences with you, which I'm sure you've already experienced… considering-"

"I want to write something in it," Jade said, holding her hand out for the book. She took it from Shras and found a brush. Though saurian was a pictographic language, brushes were still usable. She wrote a letter to Viper, hoping that one day he would read it.

Shras was mumbling something to herself, but her face was one of guilt and exasperation.

"I lied," She said.

"About what?" Jade was still in the process of writing her letter.

"Not remembering what I said to him," Shras looked at her lap, her son was sitting there. Jade looked up, her expression beckoning for more information.

"Our parents, they died when Zyvith was going to college. They perished in a fire."

"I'll need more to go on than that, I'm afraid."

"Zyvith… he was coming back home. Something mother said to him made him angry, I suppose… when he came back…" Shras paused. "He rushed into the house, grabbed me and tried to save out parents. He was… too late. I can still remember him, it was the first time I can really picture him without his cloak."

"What did you say to him?"

"The very next day, he had to decline the offers he received from college. He figured he needed to take care of me until I came of age."

"Couldn't he have reapplied to college?"

"He tried, but seeing a man, a deformed man, decline access to a school mostly rich children go to? No… you don't get a second chance. But… a month after it happened… I… told him that- after I saw him practicing his pyromancy… I told him that..."

* * *

**999,982 B.M.K.**

"...No matter what happens to me, even if I die before I get to feel a lover's touch, if I lose everything and everyone I love… I'm glad I wasn't born like you."

The words hung poisoned in the air. Their venom leaked into his scales, filling him with a further sense of wickedness. His left arm was bandaged, but he felt like they were being ripped away, exposing his limb to the whole of Zaterra in that moment.

"Why, Shras? Why?"

"How dare you ask me why? You killed mother, you killed father. You must've, look at you, playing with fire, filled with such vice that you're barely a real person… you're despicable."

He could remember his father's last words.

"_I love you, son… I'll always love you," _Zyvith had clawed and tore at the debris that caged his father in, it was one of the few times fire had hurt him. _"I love you, Zyvith."_

"_I l- lo-... I love you father! I love you!" _He had to summon every bit of strength in that moment to let his father go. His father, who had always been there for him. Making the fire, bending it to his will, watching it dance along his body… it was one of the few ways he could always feel connected to his father. His left arm was bandaged because he truly never did let his father go. He could remember the pillar of wood crashing down on his arm, he could remember violently pulling his arm out of the rubbish. The sheer force required for the action tore off the scales, and they wouldn't return for another couple of months.

He felt all the love and care for his sister slowly die in his heart. He did what he could to maintain it, but she had always been close to Tashei. And Tashei? She had never loved Zyvith.

"Leave me, Shras, I have no need for you now," He said it coldly, and turned back to his fire.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

"I want to try something different," The man said. He had spectacles, his face was long but not snouted. He was in charge of the meetings Syzoth had been attending, and he seemed to not mind a deformed man attending them. It was kind of nice, those with defects were more valued since they could still theoretically have children.

"How so," One of the saurians said.

"We spend so much time here, moping about in this group. So, we're going to try something different."

Viper stayed silent, his head was tilted downwards, Reptile sitting next to him.

"Today, I want each of you to write me a list, a list of your favorite moments, this can be as long as you want, but please make it more than just one or two."

Viper stepped into his memories, although before he could get very far with his thoughts, Reptile interrupted him. They ate lunch together, their noodles were braised in soy sauce and meats of all kinds were mixed in them. Their beverages were tea made of herbs from the swamps.

"So, what are you going to write for your memories?" Viper asked, eating some of his noodles, his tongue lapping them up and carrying them into his mouth.

"I don't know… it's been a while since I've felt completely happy, maybe the planetary rings? Those used to be so beautiful… and then," Reptile drank some of his tea, pain colored his face. "I'm glad this isn't yours," Reptile said, a small grin on his lips.

"Hey, my tea has gotten… better," Viper smiled, continuing to eat his food.

He thought about the night he first told Jade how he felt. He remembered how nervous he had been: he stuttered, he breathed heavily, his tail swept across the ground. It gave him an idea of what to write.

* * *

**9020 B.M.K.**

It was dark in the gardens. Viper didn't mind though. He had been walking with Jade, who was smiling from cheek to cheek at the moment. They had been joking and laughing and he had succeeded in making her smile.

She paused and looked at him. He grew quieter too, his gaze never shifted from her face, but the rest of the gardens had been beautiful that night. The moon shone through the dense leaves which were, at least during this time of year, blossoming with flowers.

She walked over to him, her stride was slow and, if Viper was to be completely honest, quite seductive.

Her hands reached for his face. It was an action that typically would've made him feel uncomfortable and nervous, but he knew she wasn't going to force off his hood, at least not in that moment.

Her fingers pulled his face closer, until her lips pressed into his. For a few moments, his eyes stayed open out of shock, but as soon as he was brought back to real life, his eyes closed and his hands reached for her hips and hair. When they separated, they were silent for a few moments.

"Can we… do that again?" He asked. She laughed and pressed the top of her head into his chest. Moving her face a few inches away from his she said: "make me smile some more, and you'll see."

"You're smiling right now, you know," He said, and he was partially joking, but she pressed her lips into his again. That time it was quite similar, although their mouths separated a few moments from laughing and smiling.

Their hands found each other once they finished kissing. He moved his body closer to her and she did the same, he could feel her warmth and grinned at the moon.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

Jade felt a flourish of anger overtake her. Shras wore a face of guilt, but, even so, it was easy to be angry at her.

"I don't know why I said it to him," Shras placed her face into her hands. Her son was out of her lap and instead sat in a different chair, looking vacantly at the wood. "I guess… I just wanted to find someone to blame."

"You…" Jade was still furious with Shras, but soon she calmed herself.

"I know… I'm sorry."

"No, Shras," Jade said, she joined her lover's sister in their regret. For a few moments, they were silent. Until Jade finally spoke.

"You want to know why we came here?" Jade leaned forward in her seat, she rested her chin in the palms of her hand. Her gaze turned to Shras' son. There was a strange energy to the boy. He reminded her of Viper, what with how he acted around his mother. She remembered many nights where he would hold her close to him, his head would rub against her body, almost like an animal would. But the night that provoked them to journey to Zaterra was a completely different story to those nights.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K., Before Zaterra**

She opened her door, and upon seeing Viper, hugged him. Once they separated, she looked at his hands, he brought food with him.

"What's this?" She said.

"You always get cranky about now if you haven't eaten, so… I've made a habit of bringing some to you."

"Well, if you've brought food then you simply must come in," She said, pulling him forward. His tail grabbed the knob of the door and shut it. She was eating when he started talking again, what his topic was wasn't important. Most days their talks could've been about nothing, and she still would've enjoyed speaking to him.

"So, how have you been, since we last spoke?" He asked.

"We saw each other a few hours ago, Viper."

"Still," He smiled.

"Better now, I suppose, I was just thinking about you, once you knocked."

"Ah… it was the food, wasn't it?" She smiled and leaned over the table to kiss him. His lips, or lack thereof as they weren't well defined, were leathery. But she didn't much mind.

When she was finished with her food, they moved to the bed. He lay on the blanket, his legs contorted to the position similar to an animal. It was something she had learned over the years of courtship, and more. Considering she had seen him hang from chandeliers, she knew he was quite the flexible man. She was adjacent to him, still listening to him talking. He moved onto something he had read, but she was busying herself with changing his posture. She had found that it was easier to get him to do things when he was talking, although she supposed that rule applied to her too. He didn't seem to mind at all, though, his tail even swept across the bed and into her lap. Eventually, his alignment became quite similar to hers and she rested her head on his chest.

"Well, you're monopolizing was quite a show of affection," He said. She smiled and moved his face closer to hers for a kiss. He reacted like he typically did, for a few seconds his body stopped moving completely, but then his hands would find their way.

She looked at his shrouded face, and decided she wanted to kiss him again. So, she did. Every time she separated herself from him, she could feel herself being drawn back in. Eventually, she straddled him. He looked quite surprised, his hands lazily hanging from his wrist, his eyes were open as wide as possible.

"Jade, I-" She didn't quite hear that last part. She was too busy with… other activities. Her hands spread across his face like they had a thousand times. He seemed to be enjoying it, his own arms and tail were like they usually were, stroking her neck or waist. But as her hands moved to his hood, things changed. She wanted to see his face, she wanted to see who he really was. But as soon as she did, he separated himself from her. She got off of him, realizing his state of panic was quite real. He was on all fours, his claws pressing into the mattress. His tail was suspended in the air, the end of it contorted as if to grab something. His rate of breathing increased, and his mouth hung open. When he finally calmed, Jade went to his side, asking him if he was alright.

"I'm fine," He said, his right hand still clutched the sheets.

"I'm not sure what you just did supports that," She said. "Was it something I did?"

"No," He said at first. "Yes… no. It's… complicated."

"Then talk to me, Viper, I'm here for you."

He shook his head, his eyes closed. For a few moments, he was completely silent, before his breath returned. For a moment, she didn't understand, even questioning if he didn't find her attractive. Either way, she wrapped him up in her arms, holding him close. His head nuzzled into her cheek, his scales shifted against her skin. They took the position they had before, drifting in and out of consciousness.

It wasn't until much later that night did she leave the bed.

She was going to see Kitana, her friend always had advice, and Jade felt the need for some tonight. It was a rare night to see Viper asleep before she was, but it seemed to be a growing habit these days. She could remember it, all those times she would stir, and he would be there. He would pull her a little closer, and greet her.

Her hands knocked on Kitana's door, which was located so close to the emperor that it was best to be quiet. Her friend sleepily opened it.

"Oh, hello," She said, rubbing her eye. "It's so late I half expected it to be Viper, or for him to be with you, at least."

"About him…" Jade trailed off.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes," Jade said, bluntly. "Although, it'd be best if we talked elsewhere."

Kitana knew of their courtship, one of the few people to know in all the realms. They walked into the library, a space which Shao Kahn had no love for. He was a man who conquered many places, and while he realized that letting those annexed lands keep their culture was wise, he only helped tangentially. It took her many years to find a small plaque, one located all the way in the back of the giant room, one that had Viper's name engraved on it. One that read of how besides assassinations, keeping the culture of the dominated was one of his jobs. It was dedicated not only to him, but to six other names, all saurian. They were: Korga, Komodai, Pythos, Chameleon, Kirri, and Suko. It was established right after the annexing Vaeternus, an event that took place five hundred thousand years ago. Those were the names of those long departed, and so ancient that she had never known any of them.

"So," Kitana said, sitting down. "What's this… trouble with Viper?"

Jade took a few extra moments, making sure that no-one was there to eavesdrop. Once she was comfortable, she set down her lantern and sat with Kitana.

"Was he not… satisfactory?"

"No," Jade said. It made sense why Kitana might've asked. Love between two assassins sounded strange at first, especially when one was a walking lizard. "He was…" She smiled as she remembered. "He was always thoughtful, and kind. Loyal, and devoted. I'm not the sort for exhibitionism, but he didn't seem to mind… expressing his love in private."

"Where did it go wrong?"

"Tonight," She said. "I went to take his hood off. He… reacted badly, I asked him why, but he didn't say much back. He should be asleep now."

"Do you have any idea why he didn't like you doing what you did?"

"No. I mean, it seems normal… sometimes I want to," She paused, finding the right words. "Express my love, carnally."

"Did he just… refuse to tell you?"

"Not… exactly. It almost looked like he couldn't, like he wanted to, but something was restraining him."

Kitana was silent for a while, the fire reflecting in her eyes.

"Have you considered going to Zaterra? Reptile is planning a trip back there," Jade considered that for a while.

"Good idea… his homeland might clear his mind, and I'd like to spend even more time with him," She smiled at the thought.

Jade walked back to her chambers, ready to tell Viper of Kitana's suggestion the following morning, but when she opened the door, he was awake. His tail hung limply from a balcony at the very top of her chamber, his hand on a window that all the rooms shared.

There was nothing to see outside the window, at least, nothing for her to see. His eyes set a purple glow about the glass, one that grew brighter as she climbed up to meet him. She walked on the wood, and leaped from one rafter to another. Finally she was next to him. His right hand was on the glass, his left was clenched in a fist.

"When did you wake up?" She said, sitting.

"I never fell asleep," He answered.

"You alright?"

"Yeah…" He said, softly.

"You sure?" He laughed quietly.

"If you weren't going to believe me, why'd you ask?" She ignored his jape and took his hand off the window.

"I want to go to Zaterra with you," She said.

"Zaterra?" He kept his gaze toward the window as she turned his hand in hers.

"I want to… you know, see your face."

* * *

**9013 B.M.K., Zaterra**

That had hurt Zyvith.

"_I want to see your face," _He brushed it off, writing of his favorite memories. He laughed as he recalled his father, teaching him to ride a swamp drake. He smiled as he remembered his first meeting with Reptile.

He moved on to a different memory.

He had been seventeen that day. The weather had been that of his favorite kind of night. Hard purple sky, intermittently streaked with pink. The rings hanging complacent in their regality. The swamp glowing a soft red in response to its companions. Rain. It fell hard, holding thunder in its watery hand. The moons defied the earthy grasp, hovering softly. That was the color of spring.

Zaterra was most tranquil in that state. It was beautiful, really. So, so beautiful.

He could remember it. Running under the night sky. Seeing the moons defy the earthy grasp of the land.

He missed it. But not as much as he missed her.

He was angry at her when they first came to Zaterra, but as of a day's passing, he wanted to see her again.

"Hey," Syzoth said. "Doing some writing?"

"Yeah… about Zaterra," Zyvith put his brush down. Saurian was a pictographic language, which was what made it so hard to learn. Its past and present tense was also different, as saurians were practically immortal, so long as they had freedom. "I'm writing about spring… ironic that we can't feel it here."

"It will come, as it always does."

His last interaction with Shras was unpleasant to say the least, but he realized that, despite how she had hurt him, they were still siblings, and she was one of his last kin. He smiled as he recalled memories of how he would lift her up to his shoulders so she could get the nectar flowers, memories of how he'd take her into the heart of the cities when their parents were off doing something.

And he longed to see Jade again.

"Thinking about Jade?" Syzoth took out his own journal.

"I wish I could relive some of those moments."

"What do you mean?"

"The things we're writing about, I wish I could go back there," He said, thinking of his father's face. He had a slight mutation, but it was only that he grew feathers from his chin and head, one of the easiest to hide considering the ability to shave.

"I want to invite Jade here."

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

Jade had decided to sleep in Shras' house another night. They had spoken of more moments in Viper's childhood, things that he used to do as a young man. It reminded her of the things she had brought with her to Zaterra, and so, that morning she spent looking through a bag of their belongings that they had brought with them. In it were his typical traveling supplies, books and scrolls and things to write with. He always was too smart for his own good, most of their early courtship had been him overthinking and overanalyzing everything. It was alright though, she enjoyed seeing him excited.

At the moment, she was looking at a map of Zaterra that was made before the merging. On it was a signature: Pythos.

It was quite detailed, showing that the east lands had mostly been jungle and swampland due to some specific kind of current, and that as the ocean grew colder, the moisture lessened into deserts. Temperate areas filled the rest of the lands, although there were always some sort of swamp to be had. She was about to look for more of the maps, but Shras knocked on her door. Jade opened it to find her holding a letter.

"It's from Viper."

"Is it in saurian?" Jade asked, putting the map down.

"No, it seems he wanted you to read it," Jade took it into her hand and opened the letter. Her eyes scanned the page, past his greetings was an invitation to a land he called: 'The Fog.'

"You know of a place called 'The Fog' Shras?"

"Is that where he is?"

"Says so in here," Jade kept the letter in her hand. "He's invited me there, and he invited you too."

"Me? I don't think I can see him, not after…" She had regret painted on her face.

"Shras, he wants you there, and I still need someone to tell me where 'The Fog' is," Jade reasoned. Shras walked downstairs and stayed there for a while. Jade walked down the stairs and found the saurian, holding her son in her arms, ready to see her brother.

It was a long ride, one that required Shras to redirect the somewhat young carriage driver when he mistakenly bumbled to the north or south. On that journey, Jade saw an amount of saurians larger than she had ever seen before huddled around a giant group of statues. Most were of kings and queens, emperors and empresses, lords and ladies.

"What are they doing?"

"Hmm?" Shras said, staring out the slotted window. "Oh, they're getting ready for the spring festival. Zyvith took me a few times," She said, sadly.

"Spring festival?" They had told Jade of a gathering, but the sheer amount of saurians at the statues was more than she had ever seen.

"It's a celebration, saurians used to celebrate the turning of each, but after merging with Outworld…" Shras stopped.

"What happens then?" Jade asked, staring at the saurians lighting candles.

"We join the land when it lights up, our bodies glow and celebrate the turning of the seasons with the planet."

Jade thought of that for the rest of the trip, figuring to probe her lover for more information when she saw him again.

It was around a day when she reached the fog. The drakes that had taken them there were fast and much larger than many other beasts of burden she had seen in Outworld, making the journey less taxing than she thought it would've been. Speaking of the animals that had taken her to Zyvith, they were like the ones her lover often rode. They were black with red stripes, and had silvery white feathers about their tail. Their eyes used to glow magenta, but as they approached The Fog, she noticed that they had collected a strange maroon light. In the dark of the night, it was quite unsettling.

And then, she heard Zyvith.

"Jade," He said from behind her.

She turned to see him and jumped into his arms. The side of his face nuzzled into hers, his nose pressing into her shoulder. When they separated, she kissed him. When she got a better look at him, she noticed that his eyes had followed the drake's. They were a dark maroon, and they glowed as his eyes typically would.

Jade turned to Shras. Female saurians didn't glow, but her eyes also seemed to have more luster to them. When Zyvith saw her, he started walking toward her. Sras started talking, an apology for their fight, but he simply hugged her and lifted her slightly off the ground. Shras was quite a small woman, and Zyvith stood a few inches above most others in Shao Kahn's court.

Their hug lasted a few seconds, it was apparent they both were sorry for what they said that night in the tavern. He next turned to his nephew and rubbed the boy's forehead. After their embrace, he guided them to where he stayed. They walked into a quaint town, the ground was muddier than the other places she had been too in Zaterra, and the inhabitants looked tired and old. When they saw her, their reactions were more entertaining than anything the cityfolk had. They looked up from their books and scrolls, stopped whatever they were doing, and just stared. Whatever gestures she did in response, they tried to replicate with their scaly hands and their sharp teeth meant for tearing flesh and ripping through meat hung from what lips a lizardfolk might have.

"Tempting the locals, Jade?" Zyvith said. She said nothing in response, only grabbing his arm and pulling him closer to her.

One thing she had noticed that compared with the city was that children were a rare occurrence. She had only seen one healthy one, whose name was Suko. He held his mother's hand tightly, seeming to have come to a place he hadn't ever seen before.

Zyvith led them to a small house, made of a dark and unrefined wood. Once they came in, Reptile was waiting, his chin in his palm, he stared vacantly at a wall, a journal at his elbow. He looked to the door and smiled.

"Ah, there he is," Reptile said. "I had started cooking something, hopefully it'll be done soon."

"Don't eat any of it, you'll be retching for days," Zyvith whispered to her.

"I can hear you, you know," Reptile said.

"Doesn't mean it's any less true!" He said, Reptile turned he was stubbornly holding back a smile.

Once the food had arrived, Shras bubbled with excitement, talking of how in her childhood she had loved to eat the kind of food Reptile had served them. It was smart of her not to mention their mother. Zyvith was mostly silent, sitting next to Jade, telling her what had bugs or amphibians and what didn't. The food was mostly steamed, or braised in sauces or oils. She cut open one of the dumplings, and out poured the meat of possibly every mammalian creature that existed in Zaterra. Or at least, that was what Zyvith said. She tried some of the dishes but most were a strange combination of tastes in her mouth. She looked to her right to see Viper, he wasn't eating much. He simply smiled when he saw her observing him and prompted her to try more food. She took a few more bites, but after a while the flavors became too muddled for her to distinguish anything. She sat back, only for Zyvith to nudge her on the shoulder. He leaned into her ear.

"Used to tourist food?"

"I've said it before, I'll say it again… something ought to be done about your tongue."

Her sleep that night had been less peaceful. The fog left an unsettling feeling in her, and she swore she was being watched the entire night. Her suspicions were confirmed when a leathery hand touched her shoulder. The voice that accompanied it belonged to Zyvith.

"Jade," He said, softly.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Late," He answered.

"I'd ask why you were awake, but you never sleep," She said, turning and pulling him into the bed.

"That's not why I'm-" He stopped when she moved her head under his chin. For a few moments he was silent. He'd drop anything when she came knocking on his door. But, tonight he seemed to decide against cuddling. A strange decision when looking at his track record.

"As nice as this feels," He said as she shifted against him. "I really do want to show you something."

"Dragging your lady out of bed is not a wise move, Zyvith."

"Says the edenian who considers it a feat to wake up earlier than me?" He teased.

She put her hand on his mouth and playfully pushed him. "Fine, I'll go," She said.

The next thing she knew, she was sleeping on his shoulder.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

"Jade, wake up," He said. It was hard to wake her, not only because she was tired, but also because he found it nice to watch her sleep.

"Are we there yet?" She said.

"Why do you think I'm waking you?"

"I don't know; you're the type to wake someone prematurely," She yawned and opened her eyes fully.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled and grabbed onto his hand. "Where are we anyway?"

"Away from the fog, although truth be told, there aren't any habited towns around here."

"Habited?"

"Habited," He said.

His mind drifted to memories of how lively Zaterra once was. He could remember tasting the honey on the wind as it drifted from the taverns to his house. The cherry blossoms were carried so softly by the air that, when he was twelve, he thought maybe he could fly with them.

"So… what did you find so noteworthy?"

He smiled and led her to a bayou. He picked a papaya off the ground and threw it next to a small mangrove. It didn't even hit the water before hundreds of eyes peeked out of the surface. They imbued the bayou with a sinister ambience. Their eyes were all different colors, and one surfaced to investigate who had thrown the fruit. It was a crocodile, much larger than those found in other parts of Outworld. It was a general rule, Zaterra had been large, larger than any other realm and so certain fauna tended favor larger forms. The dragons, that Viper had helped to tame for Shao Kahn's army, were a good example. Their frost-breathing counterparts were tiny in comparison. He could remember the first time he saw one, he had been twenty-two, and it inspired him to write. It was dark red, with soft blue on its joints and underbelly, spikes crawled along its spine. Certain dragons, their abundance depended on which part of Zaterra you found yourself in, hadn't any wings. The crocodiles, komodos, and smaller lizards had characteristics of some of those dragons, the wingless ones, he meant. They had done so in an attempt to scare off predators, rare as they were. The crocodile walked over to Zyvith, where he started to pet it as an outworlder may have done to a dog. From the smell, he could gather a few base details. It wasn't hungry and mating season, while close, was not here yet. It had bones sticking out its back like barbs. It stood on eight legs, although four of which were only needed when it postured itself. The similarities with the wingless dragons started at the beard it grew, it was made completely of moss, and it had two long antennae drooping from the nostrils. This particular specimen was a bluish green and had red stripes on its back.

"You can pet it, if you'd like. This one won't bite," He said, prompting her to touch it.

Jade walked closer and pressed her hand into its snout. Its eyes closed, and its smell told Zyvith that it had never felt the touch of a foreigner. It stayed under their hands for a few minutes, before it rolled in the moss of the surrounding swamp and reared its head to wander back into the water.

"Are all the creatures of Zaterra this friendly?"

"Would you like to find out?" He answered, she smiled at him.

"This place is…" She paused. "I'm glad I'm here with you."

He smiled. The first time they met, he nearly shook himself out of his scales, but now he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

They spent more time in the swamp, feeling the late night rain softly hit their skin. They saw many things, experiences similar to their encounter with the crocodile. Throughout the night they saw the slithering neck of a great basilisk with a head of orange and a body of dark blue, whose smell had informed Zyvith that it was a female. They saw the komodos, the snakes that hung so still and quiet from the trees they looked almost like vines, and the lizards who brandished their colors. It was quite a nice night, one that reminded him of when he used to be a seventeen year old boy who ran under the light of the moons.

They walked back to their carriage when the sun started rising. It broke through the leaves and trunks. There was a glare to it, but it was beautiful too. The rain had stopped by this time, and the carriage boy was still waiting for them, although he was sleeping.

In the carriage, Jade asked him.

"Before me, was there someone else?"

"Someone else?" He asked.

"Another girl?"

"No. Carnal activities never interested me," He answered, truthfully. "So, no, there wasn't anyone else."

"Really? But you're a million, or close enough."

"No-one I ever lost my innocence to, if I'm being frank," He said.

"You're… innocent?" She asked, surprise wasn't in nearly as much abundance as if it was someone else he was having this conversation with.

"Yes, Jade."

She pulled herself closer to him, wide awake, a stark contrast to when she had come out into the swamp. He asked her: "Back before… when we almost," He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to ask this. "You said you wanted to see my face."

Jade was silent, and then answered.

"I don't know what I was thinking that night," She said. "I've already seen your face. Your real face."

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

"The food may be a bit much, but saurians seem to have a good eye for homerealms," She said from the bed. He was sitting in a chair, it was made for rocking, but doing so gave the most horrible creaking the worlds had heard, and so despite his urges, he resisted.

It had been a few days since their galavanting across the swamp. The next nights were moonless, only fireflies illuminated Zaterra. It made sense; in a few days the spring festival would arrive.

"I suppose so," He answered his lover. She was leaving that morning. Shras' son missed his home, and Jade wanted to see the festivities of Zaterra. He felt an emptiness slowly build in his chest. The few things she had brought were packed, and Shras was talking to the carriage boy.

"So…" She said, walking over to him.

"So," He said in response. She didn't say anything back, only taking his hand and beckoning him to stand. He did as she asked and she quickly pulled him into a hug.

"Check the back of your journal, Zyvith," She said. For a few moments, there was silence. And then: "I love you, Zyvith."

Then, she was gone.

He sat in his chair. He stuck his tongue out, it gathered the smell of the room, and then, he pulled it back in. Her smell was thick. He opened the journal she left in his hand, and read the note she left him.

"_Zyvith,_

_ Your sister, after my __persuasion__, agreed to read me some of your journal entries. She also spoke of a few moments in your childhood. I know your luck with women has been less than phenomenal, especially with those that you are related. But I want you to know that I wouldn't be the same person I am today if I hadn't met you. We've saved each other on missions, but you helped me in the most important way possible. Truth was, for a long time, it felt a bit strange asking for help… it was easy to think I always had to do things alone. But, you proved me wrong, and I wanted to show you that you'll never be alone: because I love you._

_Love, Jade"_

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

The world flashed into nothingness. A strange white light obscured Viper's view, and sent strange shades to haunt him.

The saurian clumsily stumbled over his feet and groped at the vacuum for support. He felt absolutely nothing.

It was in that moment he felt like something was crawling up his throat. An image of the Zaterran beach forced itself into his head. Its black sands and spires were a sight only seen in the southeastern district of the reptilian realm. They were so alone... out there in the sea...

He repeated Jade's letter to himself over and over again, but sure enough, the voice returned to him.

"_Poor, poor Zyvith."_

"Leave me alone… please," He said.

"_No," _The voice laughed.

"Just… it's what I want…"

"_Ah but that leads me to my next question, Zyvith!"_

"No more, no more questions. Please," He was crumpled on the ground, the cold making him drowsy and lethargic.

"_What do you want, Zyvith?"_

"I want you to leave me alone," He said.

"_No, I asked what you wanted." _

Zyvith was confused, and shot out another response. "I want to get out of this… out of this cold, out of this cage!" He nearly started crying.

"_Closer, but still not right, I'm afraid."_

"I want… I want Jade," He said, softly.

"_Louder, you pathetic animal."_

"I want Jade," He said, above a whisper but lower than his typical self.

"_Louder!"_

"I want Jade!" He screamed, crying. That made it his fourth time ever feeling tears on his face. The first time he had ever felt his eyes water, his mother was there. Her voice was horrible and sour. She smacked him, and the tears disappeared with the pain. It reminded him of more terror than he had ever cared to think about.

"_Don't listen to him!" _The voice rang out. Zyvith turned his head. He saw a young boy, standing in a purple cloak. The child walked over and his revenant self for once seemed powerless. The young boy extended his hand and helped Zyvith to his feet.

Zyvith remembered why he made the voice in the first place. He could remember that desperate feeling of isolation, and how nice it felt to have someone to talk to.

The two figures started arguing, their yells and japes started to blur in his head, all he could think about was Jade. How much he wanted to touch her face, to feel her hair, to just hold her for a single second.

"_He's lied to you, he's never done anything but lie to you!" _The purple cloak said.

"_And where were you?" _The black cloak said.

"_So what? That excuses your behavior?" _The purple blot said.

"'_My behavior?' What are you? A mother?" _The black blot said.

Their voices became indistinct again, their forms became shapeless. Zyvith couldn't tell who was who, and his head throbbed so painfully that his walk was slow and drowsy. His vision became blurry as if he had lost his glasses, and his breathing became course and shallow. His tail seemed to drag and drag behind him, slowing him down. But when he was in his worst moment, as if the light was about to burn out his eyes, it became clear.

His left arm had weird coloration. Even for him. A cursory glance at his scales would tell anyone that fact. But, instead of his deformity at birth, or the house on fire, what had caused the majority of his arms off-color scales, was himself. Cutting through scales was quite hard with a blade of non-saurian origin, but blunt objects? That would work. It never felt nice, and he received no sort of gratification from that pain.

Well… one kind of gratification.

The enjoyment came only in the form of the depraved sense of freedom that it gave him. That, for one singular moment in his whole life, he caused himself pain, and not the world throwing constant waves of horror at him. The freedom that, for one moment in time, he was absolutely sure he could feel something.

But remembering that, a period of time from when he was thirty-three, told Viper that he was done fighting. The gods knew how long he had bitten and clawed his way through the storm. The storm of blinding white light, so blinding that it blocked everything else out. He was done waiting for that sweet shade of night, a single flush of darkness to finally relieve his eyes.

For he, Viper, Zyvith, the saurian, had found it.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

An unfamiliar feeling was on his cheeks. He placed his fingers there, and felt moisture on his scales. She had been gone for a few hours, and he was crying. It was his first time ever, too. He walked over to his journal, wrote down the last of his happy memories. It read: _'It hasn't happened yet.'_

And then, he finished with a letter to his deceased mother.

"_Tashei,_

_ I will never forgive you. I will never love you. No matter if you were still alive and apologized profusely and sincerely, I would never ever be able to let go of what you did to me. I have despised you for so long. I hated you. Every time I heard your voice, saw your face, or even heard the mentioning of your name, I wanted to drop whatever I was doing and leave. But, I don't need that anymore. I don't need someone like you… because I will never lose sight of who I am._

_Zyvith"_

He found Reptile, told him where he was going, wished him the best, and told him how important a friend he was before running out the door. He jumped onto a drake, and rode off to the east. He made only one stop, he visited the hall of the dead and when he reached his father's tomb he took only one thing. His father's mating necklace, it was a large gem, Suko had made it himself. It was purple, a carved amethyst like that of a reptile's eye. He could remember one day, when Zyvith was barely fifteen, his father had made a joke of it. How he had been lucky to have made it out of amethyst, since it looked like his son's eyes.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

"Stop!" He roared, his voice carrying a regality that no emperor had ever held. The voices quieted, Zyvith walked toward each of them, he knew what he wanted to do. He walked to the young boy, purple of eyes and cloak, and spoke to him. He recited his favorite poem when he was a boy.

"The fire set at darkness grows brighter and warmer than any born in light," He said, quoting Tatsurri.

"_Because it is only they who have bloomed through night," _The young boy finished. Zyvith smiled, and hugged his younger self.

He sauntered over to the revenant, where he looked on expectantly.

"Hello, revenant," He started.

"_So, rea-"_

"I'm not finished," He shut the voice down. "I have to thank you. I have to thank you for trying to protect me. But, I can't let you do that. What you offer is a beautifully horrible death of my spirit. And so, thank you, but I have to move on," He looked at his hands as he spoke. He had realized far too late that the destruction he had caused his left was unhealthy, but then he gazed at his right. It carried his mating ring, an untraditional sign of matrimony but one he cherished nonetheless.

"_You have nothing left! You're weak!"_

"No… you're wrong, I'm strong, stronger than you could ever imagine, and I'm leaving this hellhole."

"_I won't let you!" _The voice screamed, and shot out his hands. Blue flames hit Zyvith, but they manifested as an amalgamation of every time he had experienced sorrow and failure, shame and embarrassment, hatred and disgust. But it had no power over him, he knew they didn't define him, and thus they only made him stronger. He took the horrid moments into his hands, tail, and mouth, biting, clawing, bashing, and crushing through them. And as he reached the bars of his enclosure he mustered every bit of heat he could to ignite his fire. For a few moments, there was only silence. Then, a spark. From his hands, blue flames. They were cold, but instead of stopping, he kept them going, augmented them and forced them out his hands. Eventually, they changed into a sea green color. He kept going, he thought of everything he had left to fight for, everything he had ever loved. Karanba, Reptile, his friends - be they revenant or alive - his students, his father, his sister, his nephew, and finally… he remembered Jade. As the fire became red, he could see her face. Her smile, her hair, her skin… her eyes. He remembered his first moment of intimacy with her… she felt so warm, and soft, her smell was to die for. As he reached to touch her face again, to look her in the eyes, he could remember being that boy. He could remember swimming across the sea, riding his first drake, seeing the crocodiles and basilisks, sleeping with the lizards, climbing with the snakes. He could remember running under the night sky, watching the dragon soar weightless through the air, writing his first book. And he could remember all that elation and ecstasy, but stronger, when he had his first moment of intimacy with a woman named Jade.

He would carry it all, everyone and everything he loved, forever in his heart.

He didn't stop there, fires danced to life from his chest, his feet, his tail, the corners of his mouth, and his eyes. They enveloped him in an inferno and he roared with the strength of a dragon. He tore through the thick metal bars as if they were parchment and stepped out onto the ice. His fire shapeshifted into that of a dragon, its long sweeping body and tail wrapped around him, its fiery eyes piercing through the icy haze, an inferno erupting from its mouth. It had burned away his inner turmoil, destroyed his inner voice, and through sorrow and struggle, love and laughter, friendship and family, he had walked out of the inferno, unburned.

The snow turned to rain as the dragon curled itself around him. Before long, it leaped into the air, dancing into embers and flares around him. His cloak? It was merely kindling for the blaze.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

There was a soft rain as Jade watched a red silhouette unseat a drake in the distance. It came running up into the gathering of saurians. They parted for the man, he stood a few inches taller than them, commanding a presence that not many were able to in a realm of giant reptiles and overflowing vegetation.

She ran to him, and as they finally embraced and ran their hands over each other, they separated, and she took in his shrouded face. It had only been about a day since she'd seen him, but it didn't matter: it felt much longer.

"I missed you," He said, holding her. Some saurians started murmuring, maybe in the joy of two people finding love, or in discomfort at the two of them. But, despite her reservations of exhibitionism, she found herself not caring. They were in each others' arms, and that was all that mattered.

They were at a table, waiting for the swamp to glow.

"I see my japes weren't unfounded," He said, as she took a sip of nectar. She smiled. Every now and then, he'd take a nervous look at his hand. There were saurians around them, they too were waiting, but Zyvith seemed to have his mind elsewhere. He touched her hand, and she looked at him, expecting him to finally tell her what had seemed to be on his mind the entire time they were waiting.

"You know, Zaterra used to have giant deserts," He said. "They expanded so wide, sometimes they were so arid that nothing could live on them."

She affirmed that she was listening, waiting for him to continue.

"I felt like I was walking in one of those, walking in it for… months on end."

His eyes went to the table, then he looked at her again.

"I screamed for help, but only a few people heard me. The most dedicated of whom, was a woman named Jade."

She grinned at that. He placed a necklace on the table.

"I'm not… the best at romance, I know. But… will you be my… lifemate?" He asked. She took a look at the necklace, holding it in her hand. The gem felt cold and was made of amethyst, a carving of a saurian's eye was on it. It looked like his oculi, forever watching and looking into the distance.

"Of course I'll marry you!" She felt a strange relief fill her chest. She had been so worried that he had no interest in her when she first came here. Little did she now, he would be proposing only days later. A smile overtook her face, one that was larger than she had ever had before.

"The correct term is mate, but…" He grinned his crooked grin as the swamps started to glow around them. There was a light cast at the edges of his hood as the voices of other saurians started to spike in volume.

When they saw the first of the moonflowers to bloom, he clenched her hand and told her he needed to show her something.

She followed him out into the swamps. They stopped in a small clearing surrounded by glowing trees. He took her hand into his and placed it on the back of his hood.

"I want you to-" He stopped. "I want you to see my face, I want to… feel you before this spring is over." His gaze never shifted from her eyes. He had the most beautiful oculi, they were big and purple, pulsing with an energetic glow so bright it never failed to make her smile.

"When I first met you… I never thought that you'd ever…" He said something, a phrase in saurian, the same phrase he had muttered to her in his sleep, the same phrase Shras had read from his journal. When she asked what it meant, he answered: "I love you, Jade."

"I love you, Zyvith."

They smiled, and after a few moments of looking at her, they took off his hood together. He didn't stop there, his entire cloak and all his clothes were taken off leaving only his undergarments. The first thing to change was his height, he was above six feet in his cloak, but out of it he was seven feet tall. He knelt on one knee to make the difference a little less noticeable.

He had red scales, so thick that they were practically armor, on his arms, legs, torso, tail, neck, and face. There was a soft blue on his knees and elbows. And the black underside of his arms, hands, legs, feet, torso, tail, neck, and chest looked almost soft. But when she touched it, she knew that it was quite durable. There was one part of his body that disregarded this rule completely: his left arm from the forearm down. It was a muted version of all the colors that made up the rest of his scales. His back was covered by a glowing white tattoo. It was of the symbols of the realms. The only colored ink being the snake that lay in the middle. It was multi-colored and slithered with a magic that made it seem real. His feet had three main claws and an opposable one on their sides, they were postured almost like a bird's talons. His hands were almost human, but his fingers had silver claws. His tail was so long it spilled into the shallow waters of the swamp, it was quite round and for the most part was smooth, but it was armored and scaled with small ridges on its topside. As it continued, it grew so narrow that at its end it almost looked like it was a dagger.

But, she moved to more important parts of him.

It was blurry at first. His face, she meant. It came to her in pieces. His eyes were as they always were, but brighter with the swamp. They were vernal flares, shot off into night-time rain. His face was long, but not like a human's; it was a snout that had plumage black and wild as ink adorning its top. It was longer than hers, and had glowing white dots like it was the night sky. Silver horns clung to his black chin, forming a beard.

His hand brought hers to his cheek, and then, it all came together for her. His scales, his face, his eyes.

And as they kissed, she knew, he was the spring.

* * *

**9013 B.M.K.**

It was a few more minutes until she started to stir. They were naked having spent the previous night making love. Once she awoke, she scratched a spot on his chin. He grinned like an idiot, a typical response from him.

"Feels nice when you do that," He admitted.

"When you court a saurian, you gain some reptilian empathy," She laughed.

"Strange, I feel the same way about edenians," He said, looking at the ceiling like a poet. Quickly though, he realigned his eyes with hers. Her oculi were green, green like the swamps. Her hair was out of its braid, he ran his hands through it, feeling the soft waves.

"Hold your tongue, lest I give you leave to use it."

"Are you my boss now?"

"I'm your wife; that makes me, your boss."

"You weren't acting like that last night, though."

She kissed him, and rolled off of him. He lunged after and wrapped his arms around her waist. Lovingly, he bit her on her shoulder.

"So… what are our plans today? Just... wasting away the day?" She said.

"It isn't wasting time if it's being spent with you."

For a few moments, she was silent. But then she turned to him and took the position they had been in before. "I could get used to this, Zyvith," She said, devilishly.

"Knowing you, I suspect you already have."

"Hey!" She said, kissing him.

"I love you, Jade."

"I love you, Zyvith."

* * *

_A/N: Thank you to all who stubbornly read through this chapter, it was an amazing experience to write and it really pushed me to do better. Thank you!_

_Sincerely, The Swampian_


	11. Shimmering Glass

_A/N: Hey, I have good and bad news. While yes, Chapter 12 is finished, (yay) it so far has been one of the hardest chapters to edit. So instead of posting this in the middle of February or something, (Anyone whose read this story will know what I mean) I've decided to post what has been edited. Once again, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

The soldiers lined up in front of him. He knew what he looked like, his mouth blazing with a smoke that hinted at the hottest fire Outworld had ever seen. Charging at him, they found no victory.

All they found was death in his jaws.

He had no idea how much time had passed. A day? A week?

Walking further into the tundra, he was naked, his eyes glancing at the distant mountain peaks. He sighed and instinctively turned his gaze upward. There was an aurora borealis, colors that were scarcely found in Outworld.

But his admiration was soon interrupted.

More guards, huddled up in the furs of the giant aurochs came up to him. He stared them down, noticing that one of them was covered in the steely blue plumage of frost phoenixes. Phoenixes were a popular creature in his homerealm, but he had never seen one, as he rarely journeyed south enough to be into their range.

He let forth a small burst of his flames and the guards instantly flinched. Their faces, what he could see of them behind their Osh-Tekk masks, quivered with doubt and fear. Most scattered and ran, a few charged him, but he tore them to shreds, breathing his fire and hissing at any stragglers.

He was left to himself after that.

When he smelled his environment, he could only pick up the smells of the stubborn lifeforms who had evolved to survive in the tundra. He stared into the distance once more, where he could see a slow herd of muskox. They were white of wool, nine feet tall, and rotund. Their horns were carved, and they had pierced noses, a sign that the giants, the only humanoids able to withstand such cold, had tamed them. This meant a few things, tamed mammoths, mastodons, and aurochs were to be near and if their herder was gone, he was either dead or off fighting some ice dragon.

He scratched his chest, there were no landmarks, but he followed the footprints of the guards he had scared away. Eventually, he smelled something he never expected to.

"_Nitara?" _Her smell came back to him. He could remember first meeting her, she was fighting in Vaeternus, but she always had one fatal flaw. One small movement of her fingers told him when she was going to attack. He had defeated her not seconds after she challenged him, but she soon became a friend. Vampires were record keepers and she helped preserve cultures with Zyvith.

A few more moments and another smell hit him, his best friend… Syzoth. He smiled, but also grew confused. Kotal had thrown him into the tundra, if he was here...

And then, Karanba, the young tarkatan who was like a son to him. He could remember bringing him back to the academy. He had always been small, but he could recall watching over him as the years passed.

Then more smells came to him, the ones of a few of his other students.

His tongue zipped back into his mouth, and he started walking to his right, the smell grew stronger.

"The beach," He said to himself. "Of course…" He started walking. The closer he got to an ice cliff, the stronger the smells grew. There were a few scents muddling it, an aurochs, or even a frost dragon, quivering at the sight of a distant fire.

He closed his eyes, and knew where his friends were. He sprinted, and finally, crashed into Karanba. When they landed, the tarkatan was in a red cloak, the same kind that Zyvith had kept in his wardrobe.

"Master Viper?!" He said, confused.

Zyvith jumped off of him.

"Is… is that you?" He said, his eyes jumping around his uncloaked body.

"Karanba!" Zyvith, soon after jumping off, ran back to embrace him.

They were silent, so happy to have seen each other again, so unbelievably happy.

For too long, he had felt alone, left to the horrors of his own mind, but Karanba was part of why he had escaped. He was far more than just a student.

"You must be cold, considering… I just… can't believe that I'm seeing…" Karanba trailed off, his eyes taking in state of undress. "Would you like my cloak?" He asked.

Zyvith readily took it, but as he put the hood back on his head, he didn't reactivate the enchantment. He looked at his hands, his left was a giant scar. But then he saw his right, the ring lay on it… Jade and he got it shortly after his proposal. He smiled, and although his mind filled with memories of her as a revenant, grey of face and orange of eyes, he smiled that he had gotten to see her at all.

"Where are the others," Zyvith asked.

"They're at the ship, making sure it stays together through the cold."

"I want to see them."

"I'll take you back there," Karanba said.

They carried on, walking through the heavy ice and snow, the sky colored green above them, almost like Jade's eyes.

* * *

**22 A.M.K., A Few Days Later...**

Her horse went down. She landed gracefully enough, a cursory glance to her right showed that her mount was dead. It had the horns of a goat, and its body was that of a horse who had decomposed further than any living thing she had ever seen.

Liu Kang had landed too, Quan Chi next to him behind a boulder. Red and black energy sparked at the tips of fingers and he shot them at the invading military.

"Jade, we have to ensure Quan Chi's passage," Kitana said to her.

Jade looked to the rest of her companions, Kabal and Kenshi were fighting, locked in a savage sword duel. Stryker, Smoke, and Sindel were suppressing fire, shooting, screaming, and smoking out the military men. But that was when Kung Lao was sent flying, landing on his back. Jax walked up, accompanied by two demons who had escaped Quan Chi's control, Sareena and Ashrah.

Sindel blasted the earthrealmer toward a pool of lava, Kitana went after Sareena, and Jade attacked Ashrah.

She threw her glaive, nearly cutting Ashrah's throat. The demon stepped back, unsheathing a sword. Standing on her hands, Jade let her staff took form, it raised her into the air, and she brought the metal down to the earth. She kicked herself to her feet, Ashrah having jumped back from the assault. The demon swung her sword at Jade's belly, but missed and was hit by the end of the staff. Stumbling backward, Ashrah summoned her magic, and sent it forth. Jade dodged it, but was met with a swift fist to the face. Recoiling, she saw Ashrah run toward her. So, she let her staff extend into the demon's stomach. Jade then kicked Ashrah's nose, the demon falling from the impact. Ashrah teleported behind Jade, and thrust the sword, but the edenian grabbed it with two golden claws that Zyvith had made for her.

Jade ripped the blade from Ashrah's hands and swung it, cutting her enemy across the chest. The demon didn't falter in her assault, jumping onto Jade. Ashrah teleported them away from the battlefield, but she wasn't the only one who could do so. Jade enveloped them in a green mist and simply teleported them back. Struggling to the floor, the edenian got the upper hand, punching Ashrah's face. Their fight grew more savage, the demon kicking and thrashing as Jade clawed at her face. Ashrah shot her magic at the revenant, and it sent her flying. Quickly regaining her footing, Jade unsheathed her staff and cast a purple aura around her. The edenian sprinted across the battlefield. Ashrah shot more magic forth, the crackles sounding like lightning. But it passed straight through. Jade took the channeled power of the aura and thrust herself forward in a kick. She found Ashrah's stomach, and sent the woman spiraling back. Jade ran forth to the body.

"Jade… wai-" Ashrah screamed in pain as the staff crashed onto her ankle.

"Hold your tongue," Jade said, aiming for her shoulder.

"Jade…" Ashrah was panicking, her emotions pasted to her face. Her wildly jumping eyes were a clear message she was searching for something to say. "Think about what Viper would've wa-"

Jade picked up the insufferable woman. She was dressed all in white, she had a hat and veil, and her brown hair was tied into a knot. Looking at her never would've given away that she was a demon.

"You come here… and ask me what Viper would've wanted?" Ashrah was terrified.

"Why don't you ask him," Jade sneered, grabbing her necklace, but a sudden wave of energy sent her flying.

"_Jax, but of course," _Jade thought to herself.

Little did the Earthrealmers know, Quan Chi's plan was to be taken behind their defenses. "_They were idiotic to come here,"_ Jade thought to herself, standing, still holding onto her necklace, the gem pulsing a heated and hateful energy.

"You know," Jax said, his metal arms glowing a purple too similar to Viper's eyes to be comfortable. "I agree with Ashrah."

"You didn't know him… not like I did!"

"Jade," He started, his tone assertive but friendly. "My daughter just gave me a call telling me about how much he helped her and her friends, about how without him, they would've been killed by Kotal."

Jade's mind started to wander. It settled for a brief moment on **his **face... red and black, silver and purple. But, she also grew angry, and after her few moments of rage, she tugged on her necklace. She had asked Quan Chi to enchant it with a conjuration spell twenty years ago, when Viper had left them. But when the necklace had come back to her, it was bastardized and practically remade. The amethyst had grown far darker, and looked like an ouroboros.

"You all want to talk to Viper? Here!" She took the channeled magic and threw it onto the ground in front of them. A vague shade of a saurian creature took the battlefield, its appearance grew more similar to her husband's, and finally the purple sheen overlapped his black cloak.

It flipped, jumping back and forth across the space between her and Jax. When it crossed the distance, it flicked its tail into the earthrealmer's chin. He was sent back, almost toppling into the lava again. Jade sprinted, about to strike Jax, but Kenshi interrupted her.

He shoved her backwards with his telekinesis, and swung his ninjato. Jade dodged under it and tore at the side of his face with the glove of golden claws. He sent a burst of telekinetic power at her but she teleported behind it and attempted to stab him with her glaive. Versions of himself, made of what seemed to be pure magic, tried cutting or jumping on top of her. She dodged them, but underestimated Kenshi's speed. He grabbed her with a telekinetic hand, pulling her forward. He kicked her in the stomach, and unsheathed his sword, nearly cutting her in two. She rolled to the side, letting her staff take form. The weapons clashed, the metal rang out, the sparks of blue and green magic flashing through the air. Teleporting to his back, she jumped onto him, bringing her glaive to his chest. He only barely grabbed it on time, throwing her off of him with a wave of telekinetic energy.

But had to loosen his grip on her wrist to do so.

Before she was sent flying, her glaive had pierced his chest. Standing, she saw Kenshi running towards her. She threw her staff at him, and he stopped in his tracks. The rod bounced from the ground, a few pulses of the imbued magic hitting him. Jade closed the distance, he swung his blade one last time, trying to cut her, but she ducked and brought the staff to his groin. Then, she twirled to his back, kicked him in the calf, grabbed her staff and brought the end of it to his head. He was knocked unconscious.

Jade next turned to Viper, but Kitana tapped her friend on the back.

"Quan Chi is at his castle, get Viper back here so they can capture him," Kitana said.

Jade called for the saurian, he was in the middle of a vicious battle with Jax, but at her voice, he came running to her.

As they retreated, Zyvith got to her side. She looked at the loping beast next to her, his eyes were empty. Multiple times, she tried using the shade to pretend that Viper was still with her. But, he would never snuggle his snout into her face, she would never be able to rest her hand or head on his heart and feel it race to her touch. He would never recite her books or poems, never bring her food or drink, he would never wrap his hands about her waist or pull her in for a kiss, and not once did he speak. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, counting those that were running back with her. Kitana, Nightwolf, Sindel, Kabal, Stryker, Kung Lao, and Smoke.

Viper used to be among them, in the days of his revenancy.

* * *

**22 A.M.K. Hours Later, The Sweetwater Sea...**

Viper ate ravenously. Talula stood next to him, she had cooked with Karanba, and they offered him the first bite of everything.

"We can make more… if you're hungry, Master," She said.

"No, I'm fine," He responded.

Reptile, however, still wasn't quite sure of what he was seeing. He had seen deformed saurians, but Viper's was the most severe case he had ever laid eyes on. His head was that of an actual lizard. His legs were structured in a way that, even when they were completely straight, he always stood on the balls of his feet. In fact, there were even times Syzoth would see him crawl on all fours.

But, Reptile soon dropped his reservations and grew happier to see his friend. There were more people on the ship. The others who sat at Viper's high table were further in, looking at a map, making sure they were on course.

When Viper stood, seemingly sated. Talula, the feline girl, was towered over. He started walking, his tail was long and spilled onto the wooden boards of the ship's insides. He disappeared into the hallway, but, despite his size, they never heard his footsteps.

"Did you expect him to look like that?" Reptile said, walking over to the girl.

"Truth be told? No. But, he saved me from the brothels, so…" Talula's eyes were silver like a dagger, her fur was a dark brown striped with black, and she had a few patches of orange. Her ears drooped low but soon shot back up. "I don't much care if he's..."

"Me neither," Reptile said. He took a closer look at Talula, she may have been the last of the felines. Every saurian that had ever lived, save he and Viper, were now dead. Reptile thought about when he had stuck by Shao Kahn's side. Two decades had passed since those days, and he had fought for Outworld. Viper though… he had taken another side. He cringed as he remembered it, Kabal and Stryker had tried to shoot him off the side of the building. He dodged them, and incapacitated Kabal. But, as he got into a fight with Stryker, his mind was elsewhere. Viper.

"We're not far from Zaterra," Talula said.

"Good… it's been too long since I've seen the land."

Reptile and she walked up to the deck, where they saw Viper take a mating necklace from Karanba. He held it in his hand so delicately, his claws softly tracing over the amethyst. He gazed into it as one would gaze into the stars.

Nitara was at the back of the ship, using a telescope to seek out any approaching navy that Kotal may have sent after them.

He could still remember the moment they had first found Viper, walking in that icy wasteland. They had interrogated some of the guards down there, and when they finally revealed he was stuck on some cliff, in an ancient cage that was used to hold frost trolls and ice demons, Talula and Karanba had volunteered to search down there. When they saw him again, in all his animalistic glory, he was strangely calm. He greeted them all telling them how glad he was to see them. But, Reptile was glad that they didn't find him brumating, or worse: dead.

He walked to the back where Nitara looked up from the telescope.

"Nothing," She answered.

"Good," Reptile was still a small bit sad. Kotal had been his friend, and part of the reason he was alive in the first place, but he and Viper had known each other for hundreds of thousands of years.

"You know, if you ask me, you did the right thing," She said, resting on some seats built into the ship's back.

"Thank you, but I feel… strange," Reptile scratched his chin.

"What for?" Viper's voice broke through. He stood, seven feet tall, snout-faced but strangely warm. His scales made the cloak look dull in comparison.

"Kotal," He answered. Reptile glanced at Viper's chest, his necklace hung there, a watching eye.

"Hmm," He sat with them, his tail was raised over the side of their ship. "I admit, my opinion of the man was never quite high. Tell me more of what troubles you?"

"Shao Kahn reprimanded me, after my failure to kill Johnny Cage. In the next tournament, I kept failing. Eventually, the Emperor exiled me."

Reptile took a few moments to recall the night Kotal had stolen into his chambers, he wasn't a trained assassin… more of a warrior than anything. His footsteps were loud, and when he drew his knife, it smelled of soldiers' blood rather than a commanders'.

"Kotal stole into my room, I prepared to fight but... then he left."

Reptile had been invited back to the throne room after that. Kotal stood to the side as Shao Kahn made them partners.

"I probably never would've seen you again, had he not been in Shao Kahn's court," He said to Viper.

A silence passed between them.

"Why do you two dislike him so much, anyway?" He looked to his two companions, the vampire and saurian. They gave each other a look, Viper gestured to Nitara.

"I was for him, at first," She said. "I can still remember that day, I was in the Shokan Kingdom when I received news of his reign. Sheeva and I were good friends, I bid her farewell, telling her I was to get a new assignment from Kotal."

She paused, they all knew of what happened with the Shokan.

"Then, he cut Goro's arms off," She said, hatefully. "I couldn't ever see Sheeva again, for she was the new Queen of Shokan. Besides, Kotal never cared for my council, I wanted the realms to be returned and unmerged. But, he always believed that a united Outworld was stronger… true enough, I suppose."

She took a cursory glance at a small ship in the distance, it was too little to be a war galley, so she continued.

"Maybe I believed in it for too long, started believing it was true… I didn't want to realize that the realms couldn't be unmerged," Viper took her hand into his, and she smiled a little.

"Well… I guess it's my turn, eh?" Viper said, leaning forward in his seat.

"One of the things we agreed on was our taste in women," He said, smiling sarcastically. "I love Jade," He said. "Always will."

He took a long pause, his necklace gleaming from the sun. Reptile thought it was strange, funny even, to imagine him and Jade. Even if he wasn't interested in edenians, he recognized beauty in her. But to imagine her with a giant lizard…

"One day, she told me that he had asked for her hand in courtship. Which, I know, is not a fair reason to hate someone for this long, even if I love Jade," His smile disappeared.

"I was born to a fisherman, my mother often grew violent at the sight of me. So, for the early years of my life, I thought myself fortune's fool… but then I learned to make a fool of fortune. I had to work hard, study for days on end to reach where I did," He said, his face like ice.

"You know, he had to go on a tria-"

"I know about the Osh-Tekk 'trials of manhood,'" He said. "But, despite my calling him a fool, I think he did learn from them."

"Maybe my disdain for him came just because I didn't like how he flaunted how great he was… painting himself blue and wearing feathers as if they were his hair."

He looked at the Sweetwater Sea, a sea that had once spanned all of eastern Zaterra.

"Maybe… maybe I was just jealous. Jealous that for so long, I was ashamed to be called Zyvith… that I was ashamed to look the way I do. Jealous that he was a great sun god, and I was the serpent or dragon or great beast of a monster that the heroes and deities always kill in their legends," He didn't laugh, and was silent as Syzoth processed what he said.

He looked at his ring and necklace, smiled once more, and said: "But I didn't need any of that… I had something far more important."

"You have a beautiful name," Reptile said. "Zyvith, I mean."

"My father named me... the second I hatched," He smiled. Reptile could imagine a small baby, he had seen the great artwork of the dinosaurs that saurians had evolved from. He imagined Zyvith's parents, holding an infant who seemed more raptor than babe.

"What does it mean?" Nitara asked. Zyvith smiled, and scratched his chin.

"That's something I think I'll only let Jade know… for nine thousand years she was the only person who could remember my face, I bet."

"We're at the shores," Talula said. Reptile sprinted to the front of the boat to see it. He jumped out, and fell into the ocean. He sifted through the waters and fell onto the black sands of the beaches. Some turtles and tortoises were there too, their shells having markings that would soon glow. Viper joined him, they were two saurians, blessing the Elder Gods for their lives.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Viper walked up to the front of the castle. The gates were large and welcoming, words in saurian scrawled onto the top. He was welcomed by his students, most who, although finding his appearance interesting, still loved and cherished him. They tackled and hugged him, having learned of his condition in a freezing wasteland. He wrapped his arms about each of them, feeling the weight of a small army piling on top of him.

"_My children," _Thought Viper.

A few hours later, he had gotten all of Jade's things. He looked at her staff, her glaive, her necklace. He held the red beads in his hand, they had been repaired since Kotal had ripped it from his neck. He packed his things once more, placing her weapons and the kirehashi on his person. An interruption came by way of a knock on the door. He answered for them to come in.

Looking up, it was Nitara.

"Oh hello, I was just about to contact Johnny… find out where everyone was."

"Yes, about that," She said. "Reptile and I were talking, neither of us want to go to your funeral, so we plan on traveling with you."

"Then what are you still doing here? Pack your things, we'll be talking to Raiden and the Earthrealmers soon," She smiled, and left, her leathery wings huddled together.

He secured his weapons, making sure he could easily unsheathe them and put them back. Lifting a small communication device that Raiden had given him. It sparked, a few moments of buzzing. Johnny's voice could be heard.

"Viper?" He said, surprised.

"Johnny!" He smiled, it had been long since he had last seen his friend.

"We were planning on staging a rescue for you, but... I see you're ok!"

"Yes… Cassie, her squadron, what happened to them? Are they alright?"

"Yes, they got out!" Johnny said, his voice was loud. "How are things on your end! We might need some help, we're planning on restoring the revenants!"

Viper's mind was filled with more pictures of his friends. The people that had fought by his side for Earthrealm, he didn't know them for long, but there was a special bond people had after fighting side by side.

He saw Jade. He smiled, thinking of restoring her to her original form.

"I think I know who you want to see again, eh Viper?"

"Yes! I can get there!" He paused. "I… Reptile is with me, Nitara too… I can bring some of my students as well."

"Good I-" He stopped. "I'll have to call you back… Hanzo is here."

Zyvith put the device into his pocket.

"_Hanzo?" _He thought, his mind conjuring up an image of Master Hasashi, a man who had been a revenant with him. But he shrugged it off and went to his traveling companions. Viper walked down the steps, and found Nitara in the library, she was reading. He looked up and found Syzoth on top of the bookshelf, near the ceiling he was reading, too.

"You know, you've made quite the library," Nitara said to him, flipping to a page about races few in Outworld had even heard the name of. "Vaeternus had libraries like this…" Nitara said.

"How long has it been since you were there?" Zyvith asked.

"Too long," Nitara said, sadly.

"Maybe after this Shinnok ordeal is over, you could go back there?"

"I assume that's good news from Earthrealm, then. And yes, I'd love to."

"We finally going, then?" Reptile said, from above.

"I don't know, you seem to be enjoying your reading time up there," Viper shot back, sneering at his friend. "And no, there's one more thing we need."

There was another person Zyvith wanted to take: Karanba. He walked over to the front of the academy, and found a few of his students. Talula and Karanba were at a table, reading or drinking.

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I need to borrow Karanba," The tarkatan stood. "Karanba, I would ask that you join us in our mission against Shinnok," Viper said.

The tarkatan looked surprised for a moment, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape.

"But… who would run the academy?"

"Talula, it's about time you've led the students, don't you think?" She looked up from her book, a smile on her muzzle.

"What do you say, Karanba?" Zyvith turned back to his pupil.

"I… I'd love to," He said, a smile reaching to both his cheeks.

"Well, pack your things, my boy. We'll be waiting in the library," Karanba sprinted off, a jolliness to his stride.

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

Johnny was forced to his knees as Hanzo pounded his fists into Quan Chi's face. Sonya wrestled against the Shirai Ryu, her movements dramatic and desperate. It was sad, tragic even, that Scorpion, the man that Quan Chi had arguably wronged the most, was now the cause of many other people's pain. In his mind, the demon needed to be killed, his crimes were innumerable and if he didn't die, then justice hadn't been served. But even then, Johnny's mind turned to the faces of his companions who had died twenty-two years ago. As Hanzo kept beating Quan Chi a purple portal warped into existence, out of it walked D'vorah.

She called out Quan Chi's name and sprinted over, dueling briefly with Scorpion. His wakizashi met her ovipositors, and managed to wound her, but she pierced his shoulder. D'vorah ran to Quan Chi, and he weakly requested for his amulet. But as soon as he did, a kunai impaled his chest.

"Get over here!" Hanzo screamed, pulling him across the ground.

Even while he was about to be decapitated, all Quan Chi cared about was his amulet. D'vorah threw it towards him, and he chanted a spell. But, in one single swipe, Scorpion decapitated him.

For a moment, everything was silent. Then, out of nowhere a pillar of orange and purple light beamed from the amulet.

There he stood, Shinnok.

"Free us, now!" Sonya demanded, but it was too late. Hanzo nearly cut Shinnok's throat, but he was flung backwards with a stroke of Shinnok's hand. Kenshi, Sonya, and Johnny charged, despite knowing they were no match for a Fallen Elder God. He confirmed their reservations when he raised his fingers and flicked them back with a pulse of energy.

"How small they are," Was the last thing Johnny heard clearly before he had truly come out of disbelief.

Shinnok was in Earthrealm.

There were some blurred voices, speaking of the newly deceased Quan Chi, but nothing clearer than that was heard. Johnny groaned, tossing and turning on the pavement.

"There will be no surprises from you, Mr. Cage! Bring him," Shinnok spoke, bitterly. Suddenly, there was another warping noise. Six revenants walked out of the portal, although which six Johnny didn't know.

Johnny really only knew one thing… war wasn't coming. It was here.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

The portal to Earthrealm was littered with corpses. Barren and sandy around them, the land was scorching hot and his non-saurian companions were sweating, hunched, and panting from the long journey.

Sun Do was completely empty.

How a once lively town could transform into a creepy and decrepit land of ghosts was… unsettling.

He walked toward the portal to Earthrealm, he could remember his first time there. Johnny had taken him to see many different wonders of the place. Zyvith sighed… he was a good friend, one that he was glad to have fought alongside. Sonya had also been nice to him. She was usually on missions, so they interacted less, and he could tell she sometimes found his behavior strange. Nontheless, he would be glad to see them both, and their children.

He turned his attention back to the corpses, smelling them…

"_Nightwolf?" _He thought. Curiously enough, he had met the shaman before he had partaken in the Mortal Kombat Tournament. He was older than he seemed, and Viper had often journeyed to ancient Earthrealm to watch its development.

Shao Kahn sent him there over the years. After he met Jade, she would sometimes come with him. For the most part, he observed from afar, gathering all the data that he could. But the few times over the centuries that he had made his presence known, some people would cower at his sight, or strangely enough, would worship him. Whether it be Sobek, a Dragon King, Fu Xi, Cecrops I, a Djinn, Glycon, Tlaloc, or Jormungandr, he carried a great many names in Earthrealm and he had to admit… it was kind of entertaining.

But Viper's attention was on the corpse, and the peculiar smell of the shaman. He turned his head to the pile that lay farther west. They were cleaved in such a manner that left them nearly unrecognizable. He didn't need the smell to know that it was Kabal's work. He could remember the man, he was ashamed of his new form. But Viper had known how to play the monster, and he didn't want Kabal to go through it. So, he had made sure to treat him kindly, even in the midst of a battlefield.

Some other bodies had bullet holes. Stryker, that was the only answer that made sense. He could remember the man: just, upright, serious. He was unmoving as a boulder, almost as if he was made of stone. Viper had thought he was a good man, if not a little quiet.

"Hold," He said, having taken in the scene.

"What's that?" Nitara said, her hand pointed at the sky. There was a bird, too big to be a crow, and not shaped like a vulture. When the sun hit it directly, it was completely translucent.

Nightwolf had spotted them.

"Who could've done this?" Karanba asked. Viper exchanged a look with Reptile, their eyes spoke of similar revelations.

Zyvith was about to answer Karanba, but the tarkatan was grabbed from behind, a blur of grey zipped away and reappeared a few feet away from them. Kabal stood there, his gas mask was a red and black not much darker than his skin. He unsheathed his one of his hook swords and put it to the tarkatan's neck.

Stryker jumped out of the shadows and held Nitara at gunpoint, his weapon only a few feet from her face. Nightwolf was next, but he stood farther back, a spectral wolf by his side. It was orange, glowering and hateful in its expressions and growls.

"Viper, I suggest you turn back, lest you meet the fate these men did."

"And I'd ask what you're doing here, Nightwolf. Besides killing Kotal's men," Viper discreetly formed a knife out of his acid.

He wasn't going to use it yet, if there was a chance that he could negotiate, then he would take it. They had been his friends, even as revenants, he held remorse for them. He had been one of them, plotting with the Dark Lord Shinnok. Plus, two of his companions were tired, they wouldn't last long if the fight went on for more than a few minutes.

"Isn't it simple, we're stopping Kotal from entering Earthrealm," Stryker said.

Viper's mind turned to D'vorah. She had always been duplicitous, and her 'love' for Kotal was flimsy at best. Zyvith connected the dots, if Kotal was throwing men at Earthrealm, there had to be something he wanted there, and if his thoughts of D'vorah were correct, then it had to have been Shinnok's amulet.

"Shinnok's amulet… I suppose D'vorah has taken it from that dramatic fool?"

"If you attempt to stop us, you'll only die sooner," Stryker said, his gun never moving from Nitara's forehead.

"_That's an answer in and of itself," _Zyvith read more signs, the faces of the revenants. They weren't here to surrender or compromise. He would have to fight them. But he probed them for more answers.

"So, if I'm getting this correct… D'vorah stole from the Emperor, he assumes she's working with Earthrealm because Cassie's platoon escaped, and now you're hatching some master plan behind Earthrealm's defenses?" He could remember Quan Chi's warped face. He would prowl along his castle, his shadow seeming to move independent of him. As it all came together one final time, Viper realized that Shinnok's amulet and Quan Chi's resurgence in Earthrealm only led to one possibility. The Fallen Elder God's return.

"You know… I have to applaud Quan Chi," He said. "He may have been a demon sorcerer, but he was a demon sorcerer with a brain."

"Turn back, Viper," Kabal said, his hook swords sliding gently across Karanba's neck.

"You know… I really did prefer it when we were on the same side," He sighed, and threw his dagger. It landed square in Kabal's mask, causing the revenant to stumble back, wheezing oxygen from the breathing apparatus. Nitara quickly spurted magic from her hands, hitting Stryker in the chest and lifting him off the ground. Zyvith, in the meanwhile, was attacked by the spectral wolf. He grabbed it by the throat, and crushed its windpipe, watching it whine and wither before any further damage could be done. Reptile had been fighting Nightwolf, breathing acid at a rapidly descending ethereal bird.

Nitara had been struggling with Stryker, her magic giving her a clear advantage over the officer. But Kabal threw his buzzsaw across the earth, cutting at the vampire's ankles and sending her headfirst into the sand. Karanba slashed his blades at the man, keeping him from further sabotage.

Stryker was about to kill Nitara, but Viper flipped across the earth. He jumped onto the revenant, his feet grabbing the gun. Leaping, Viper ripped the firearm from Stryker's grip. As soon as he landed, Zyvith kicked a cut of flames at the revenant. Dodging, Stryker took out his truncheon. He swung, but Viper was too fast, and raked a claw against the officer's chest. Within seconds of his previous attack, the saurian pushed his palm into Stryker's mid-section, ignited his hand, and sent the man flying through the sand, steaming. Zyvith pounced after him and slammed his tail into Stryker's cheek, knocking him back even further. The revenant desperately shot up, sand pouring from his body, and punched Viper in his chin, but the fist merely deflected off the saurian's scales. Stryker realized this and scrambled for the truncheon he had dropped. He went to all fours and dug through the sand, only barely finding it in time. But while Stryker had been busy feeling relieved, Zyvith grabbed the weapon, and broke it in half. They squared off, the revenant charged in a desperate attempt to attack, but Stryker didn't cross half the distance between them. Viper letting a bloom of fire erupt from his hands and mouth, setting Stryker on fire. The revenant fell to the ground, the fires slowly suffocating in the sand.

As the saurian walked over, he noticed a row of glass sticking out of the sand. He examined it, while waiting for Stryker to rise to his feet.

"You used to fight for Earthrealm. You used to defend the innocent, protect those that couldn't protect themselves, Stryker," Zyvith said, not turning from the sculptures of glass.

"I was blind. Quan Chi cleared the icy haze from my eyes and showed me that death was the legacy of life."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Stryker, for it would appear that you weren't unblinded, but merely walked further into the mist."

Stryker sprinted toward the saurian one last time, but Zyvith merely struck him with his tail, thrusting the revenant backwards. The sand swept up like a blanket, slowly falling back to the earth.

Viper turned to the rest of the battlefield. Karanba and Kabal were still fighting, the hook swords and bone blades collided. The tarkatan was doing quite well considering he was fighting Kabal, a master swordsman with super speed.

Reptile had fared alright so far, but Nightwolf had spectral animals at his beck and call. A giant bear swung its claws wildly at Syzoth. The saurian dodged under them, and flipped himself onto his hands, kicking the bear in the jaw.

With an ethereal arrow primed, Nightwolf smirked. The spectral creature was merely a distraction. But Reptile swiftly jumped onto the bear's back and sent it loping toward the revenant. The animal dissipated as it came crashing over to its conjurer, the shaman shaking himself free of the myopic haze, glaring at the saurian.

Zyvith ran to the battle, hissing as Nightwolf sent forward a pack of spectral wolves. The saurians spit out a half-circle of acid, only some of the wolves were graceful enough to stop, most being melted by the vitriol.

"You know how to heal a wound like Nitara's?" Viper asked, as they finished killing the beasts. Reptile nodded and took off.

Picking up one of the few wolves that had stopped in time, Zyvith threw the animal at Nightwolf. The shaman dodged and knocked his bow. The arrow flew but Viper spun out of its range and loped towards him, smacking away the surviving wolves with his tail. He got close enough for his claws to reach and jumped onto the revenant. Viper's toes grappled onto his waist, the talons of both his feet and hands dug in as he bit the man's shoulder. Nightwolf tried to stab him with a knife, but the saurian simply constricted his tail around the shaman's neck, choking him. Acid cascaded the saurian's teeth, burning into the already bleeding wound. Cursing, the revenant wildly and desperately thrusted his weapon into the saurian's chest. Viper felt a few of scales start to budge and some blood trickling down his chest. Kicking himself off of the shaman, Zyvith retreated from the blade.

Nightwolf recovered from the wounds and brought a stroke of lightning from the skies. Zyvith flung himself back, but was hit by the blast radius. The saurian fell into the sand, and was met with the revenant pouncing on him. Nightwolf tried stabbing him, his knife aiming for Viper's heart. But Zyvith slammed his tail into the shaman's neck, and bit onto one of his wrists. Nightwolf recoiled and the saurian kicked the revenant off of him.

"Well, I knew you had it in you, Grey Cloud," Viper said, standing up, pressing his hands into a smoking spot on his chest.

"Do not refer to me like that, for I am Nightwolf," He said.

"There was a time when you didn't mind hearing that name, a time when you weren't malignant."

"I let myself die by Sindel, but I should've thanked her instead of cursed her," He said, manifesting a tomahawk of pure green light.

"Raiden offered me help when Quan Chi was cleansed from my soul… I was a fool not to listen to his and Bo' Rai Cho's teachings more carefully."

"Raiden is the fool, Sindel is the reason I met Quan Chi, and now… I am a victim no longer!"

"Nightwolf," He started. "You are a victim, a victim to your own vindictiveness."

Nightwolf flung his tomahawk. In response, Zyvith took out the glaive and threw it, knocking the axe out of the air. Quickly, Zyvith let Jade's staff take form and leaped from the sand. He landed on the end of the metal, bounced off of it, and jump kicked Nightwolf's cheek. Grabbing the staff with his tail, he slammed the end into the shaman's chin.

Flipping back onto the sand, the staff in his hands, he whipped it around his body, channeling the destructive power, adding it to his fire. With a few more swings, the magic flared into the air. Nightwolf reacted too late and was hit by a bright collision of energy.

Zyvith walked over to the smoking body of the shaman. He was unconscious, and very lucky. Most would've been killed by such a burst of magic, but revenants were quite resilient. Zyvith saw his face, warped beyond comfort. Sighing, Viper reclaimed the glaive from the sand.

The saurian turned, where Kabal loomed, silent and holding his hookswords. Karanba was bleeding from his arm and had been retreating.

Zyvith came between them.

Kabal's mask hissed, air escaping from the ridges in the metal.

The revenant said nothing, one of his hookswords moving toward Viper's direction.

For a few moments, nothing happened. No spoken words, no actions… nothing.

Then, Kabal suddenly ran forward and tackled Viper. The two went flying through the sand. Wrapping his tail about the revenant's leg, Zyvith and he tumbled, the portal slowly disappearing from sight. There were statues of people long forgotten littered about the desert, sticking stubbornly out the sand. They stood and began to fight, Zyvith's kirehashi clashing violently with Kabal's hookswords. Viper cut against the revenant's body, a swath of bright neon orange falling into the sand. Kabal ran, he was a master swordsman, but the saurian had been wielding blades when he hadn't even existed. Using his impressive speed, the revenant returned, smashing his fist into the saurian's chin multiple times. Then, Kabal sped off, further into the sand.

The two of them chased each other through the fields of ancient ruins, almost as if they were playing a child's game. As they ran, Kabal turned and threw a knife, but Viper propelled himself upward with a jet of fire, dodging the blade. He landed on top of Kabal's back, causing them to fall onto the scattering sand. The revenant regained composure and pierced his hookswords through the back of Viper's shoulder. Pulling on the blades, they tumbled further along the hills of the desert.

But Zyvith wasn't finished. He shot streams of vitriol from his mouth, and Kabal quickly scrambled away from it, unlodging his sword. He stood a few feet away, his hookswords ready to tear through more flesh. Viper joined him, before long, his scales would move back into place, trying to repair the damage.

"Kabal!" Viper said, his claws bloody from the battle. "Why, why do you take relish in your actions? Why must you kill the realm you died for?"

The wind was strong, dust and sand choking the sky.

"I could remember a time when you and I weren't tearing each other to shreds, no?" Kabal said avoiding the question. "You made me feel as if I were none changed, during a time when I felt inhuman."

Kabal swung his blades through the air with such grace that most would grow wary of challenging him.

"A shame that now I'm not human."

Viper loped after him. Kabal charged, their speed unparalleled by any in the realms. Zyvith shot a pulse of fire and it burst into a cacophony of flames. Landing straight in Kabal's face, he stumbled backward. Viper sprinted towards him, but the revenant slashed at the saurian's chest. He recoiled from the sudden movement of the blade, feeling the swing's breeze at the scales of his torso. In response, Zyvith slammed his talons onto Kabal's feet, and punched him. Kabal's mask partially broke, not enough to kill him, but enough to knock him out. Landing on all fours in the sand, he collapsed.

Viper stopped for a few moments, sitting cross-legged, his back hunched and his tail curling around his legs. He lay on the soft earth under him, his eyes closing. As he rested, he could remember coming out to the deserts of Outworld.

Jade would always be there, their mounts whinnying and chirping at the sun. They would sit, his head resting in her lap with her hands cupping about his face. As he basked in the heat, she would smile, and he would grin crookedly in response. He would nuzzle his snout into her face, pulling her head in for a kiss.

"Master?" The voice of a young tarkatan broke through the silence. His eyes fluttered open, his thoughts and visions of Jade scattering.

Reptile sauntered up behind, supporting Nitara on his shoulder. The vampire had stopped bleeding, but she was limping. Karanba was with them as Viper stood, he brushed the sand off of him and took a look at his companions. Reptile hadn't sustained much damage, but Nitara looked half-dead, and Karanba was panting like a dog.

"Nitara, how's your leg?" She put some weight on it, but Kabal had cut it too deeply for her to walk.

Viper thought for a few moments, his mind turning to Shinnok. The situation had changed, if they were to stand a chance against a Fallen Elder God, they would need an army. Plus, Zyvith had no intention to drag an injured vampire to Earthrealm.

"We have to go back," Viper said.

"What?" Nitara spoke. "I- I can fight!"

"No, you can't. Kabal saw to that, Nitara," Zyvith turned, and looked back over the dunes. "If we're going to Earthrealm, we'll need an army."

The saurian turned to his traveling companions. "We need to gather the students, send owls to those off on missions."

"How long will that take?" Reptile asked.

"I'm not sure, only a few are away, last I checked. But, we'll be needing to get as many with us as we can."

They took off: a tired tarkatan, a limping vampire, and two determined saurians. As the hours passed and they climbed out of the sand and back to the swamps of Zaterra, Viper knew... knew that a war for the fate of Earthrealm was on the horizon and they would have a crucial role in it.

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

Cassie held her mother in her arms.

"Mom, where's dad?" She asked.

"Shinnok…" She answered, half-dead.

"Mom, mom… where'd they go?" Cassie probed. Sonya fell, her face planted into the side of the pavement.

"Mom?!"

"Your father…" Scorpion spoke. "Shinnok's prisoner… at the Sky Temple…"

Cassie looked to the west, her eyes trained carefully on the foreboding shift of the winds. A stroke of lightning flashed down from the heavens. Raiden.

* * *

_A/N: I'll try to get Ch. 12 (or what was originally planned to be the rest of Ch.11) edited soon. Thank you so much for your patience, this story has been really fun to write. Once again, I hope you enjoyed!_

_Sincerely, The Swampian_


	12. The Gift of Spring

_A/N: Thank you, everyone who read this story. Thank you so much. I couldn't have done it without you, this is as much my accomplishment as yours. Now, I know that some of you have been waiting for The King of the Saurians to come to a close. I hope you enjoy. Thank you._

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

Bo' Rai Cho was seated as the flash of lightning seared the ground of the Sky Temple. Raiden turned his eyes to his long lived ally.

"Raiden! Raiden my old friend!"

"Master Bo' Rai Cho. I am pleased to see you. It has been many years."

"Too long, yes, too long. We old warriors need to stick together, eh?"

"Most certainly. I presume recent circumstances precipitate your arrival?"

"Yes, yes. I am concerned that Shinnok may return. I've been trying to contact you. I feared the worst."

"When Kano misappropriated Shinnok's amulet, he left behind a snare. Disabling it required that I travel to a strange many realms..." Raiden had seen things that none had ever before. Realms whose sizes ranged from tiny to gargantuan. Ones that were a small island amongst the great multiverse of inhabited realms. Ones that contained people Shao Kahn had never tried to conquer - although, no doubt, he would have eventually attempted to do so. Ones with those evolved to swim forever in great oceans, ones that had sentient plants, ones who had beings made of pure elements. And even ones that were desolate wastelands, that had never contained life, or had lost it long ago.

"I must retire to the Jinsei Chamber. Regain my strength," he said, moving on from these thoughts.  
"You are close to recovering it then? Shinnok's amulet?" Bo' Rai Cho asked, as they walked to the Jinsei. It was clear he had been alone at the Temple for quite some time. Shinnok would be a threat, and Bo' Rai Cho was a far wiser man than many would have first thought.

"I do not know. Disabling Kano's snare demanded my full attention. Once I am rejuvenated, I will confer with General Blade."

"If only we could have destroyed Shinnok during the last war. If only he were mortal," Bo' Rai Cho said those words bitterly. His face was screwed up in a type of disgust rarely seen on the old warrior.

Raiden sent forth a small stream of lightning, it touched the center of the great door and made it open. He could see the Jinsei now, it glowed blue amongst the statues of the Elder Gods. One day he may ascend to join them, but for now he would be a defender of Earthrealm. Long ago, there had been many more, a fire god, an earth god, a water god. They had either ascended to the Elder pantheon, in which they had power over the cosmos itself, or had died by Shinnok's hand.

"Such beauty. Like gazing upon the Elder Gods themselves," Bo' Rai Cho said, he stared in admiration, the heavenly light filtering into the rest of the hallway.

"I hold out hope that we can turn this crisis to our advantage," Raiden said.

"How so?"

"Quan Chi's magic binds the souls of many we hold dear. Capture him, and we can force him to release them."

"Liu Kang and Kung Lao restored? I suppose it is possible…" Raiden had had similar thoughts to his old friend. His mind turned to the time Jackson Briggs, Hanzo Hasashi, Kuai Liang, and Zyvith had been restored.

"As long as Quan Chi lives…" Raiden went silent for a moment. He looked at the stonework of the floors, a blue liquid and light filtering through the grooves in the ground.

"I've long regretted losing our comrades' souls to Netherrealm's evil. Kung Lao and Liu Kang…" He pictured them as children, when he had first seen them. They looked upon him with a reverence that not even his most faithful worshippers had. He smiled at them. "They were like sons," he finished. "I would move the Heavens to bring them back to the light."

He stepped into the Jinsei and hovered above the ground. His mind disembarked to times long past once more. He could remember Baraka's warped face… the man was long dead. Raiden, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao rescued the other Shaolin during Shao Kahn's tournament. D'vorah had fought them too - ironic, that she was the cause of Baraka's death. He was interrupted from further musings when the very stones making up the Jinsei chamber started to shift.

On the top floor, which Raiden could see due to the freshly torn hole in the ceiling, Bo' Rai Cho extended his hand in a silent plea.

Twisted and dark laughter could be heard, the second it rang through the halls, everything seemed to grow silent. Almost as if the world was shuddering and whimpering away from the Dark Lord.

"Bo' Rai Cho!" Raiden called for his friend. He teleported to the top to see the old warrior tortured by Shinnok's amulet. Six revenants surrounded him. Sindel, Smoke, Kitana, Jade, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao.

"Yet another of your allies falls to me. When he dies, I will claim his soul," Shinnok said, sadistic and smiling. In the background, D'vorah loomed, Johnny Cage in her grasp.

"You know not his power. His soul cannot be subjugated," Raiden said, defiant in the face of Armageddon.

"Shall we kill him, Lord Shinnok?" Liu Kang spoke, it hurt especially to have heard it from one Raiden considered so close in life.

"Not yet. He will bear witness as I conquer his realm. Then I will imprison him as he did to me," Shinnok said it, smiling. His mind held the addled idea that he had already succeeded in his plan. But he was wrong.

"_There will always be evil in the world, but there will always be people to fight it," _Raiden reminded himself, something that Kojin, the God of Fire, had once told him.

"I would not boast of victory prematurely," He voiced his thoughts.

"I have already won, Raiden," Shinnok said, walking past him to the inside of the Jinsei. Raiden had half a mind to go after him, but Kung Lao pushed against his shoulder. Smoke grew braver, and pushed harder, as if he wanted to topple over the god.

Like a stroke of thunder, Raiden kicked behind him, only seconds after Liu Kang reached to push him. He hit Sindel in her shin, sending her back a few paces. Smoke kicked, but Raiden blocked the blow and punched him before he could throw another attack. Stopping Kitana, he sent a palm of lightning to her face. But then, Liu Kang punched him across the cheek and did a bicycle kick, hitting the Thunder God square in the chest. Raiden rolled onto the ground, his hat coming off from the force.

Kung Lao prowled over to the Thunder God. Barely standing, the revenant punched Raiden, then he did again, and again. Falling to the ground, he was kicked by Jade's boot, blood gushing from his mouth. Liu Kang jumped onto his spine, inviting the other revenants to do the same.

They kicked and tortured him.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they gave him a moment of peace. But it was all too short.

Putting him in a headlock, Kung Lao began to choke him, and the others readied themselves for more torture.

But thunder and lightning was hard to tame.

Summoning bolts of electricity, Raiden felt Kung Lao pounce from battle. The rest, however, weren't so fortunate. The Thunder God pounded onto the ground, smashing some of the stonework and electrocuting all five of the other revenants.

Kung Lao landed, having been the only one to escape.

"Kung Lao… desist!"

"I serve Shinnok and the Netherrealm," He answered.

"Because Shao Kahn murdered you!"

"Something you allowed to happen. I will not be so passive in your demise!"

Shooting thunder from his hands, Raiden flew through the air. Kung Lao was hit with the sheer power, but he recovered. The revenant stood, and threw his saw hat, the metal flying dangerously close to Raiden's face. Kung Lao leaped into the air and kicked, only to be caught by another stroke of lightning.

The revenant grew frustrated.

So, Raiden used this to his advantage. Every time Kung Lao attacked, Raiden would simply prolong the fight, make his enemy sloppy. Stumbling back multiple times, Kung Lao was angry, throwing his hat or teleporting. Raiden would simply teleport back, or block his attacks. Eventually, Kung Lao ran straight for the Thunder God, but was caught in a grip of pure thunder.

"You deserved a better fate," Raiden said as the revenant lay on the ground, steaming from the lightning. He stood above the body, recalling him in life. But before anything else could be done, Liu Kang hit him on the back of the neck. The revenant seethed with anger, effectively trading blows with the Thunder God for a few moments.

"This is not your destiny, Liu Kang," Raiden said, recovering from the multiple strikes he had received.

"More visions, Raiden? Do you still see the future?" Liu Kang mocked.

"The visions are gone. But I know what should be."

"I was put here by your hand!" Liu Kang spoke, bitter and hateful.

"An accident. Which haunts me to this day." He could remember the rooftop, Liu Kang attacked him, and with no choice, Raiden shocked him. It combined with the pyromancy, and the Shaolin Warrior Monk had died, nearly burnt to a crisp.

Liu Kang seemed to listen, even if it was only for a moment. But within a few seconds, he charged. Raiden teleported and brought his fist down to Liu Kang's midsection. Punching again, the revenant attempted to fight back, but Raiden sent him flying with a kick to the stomach. Liu Kang recovered quickly and said, "I should thank you. You freed me. The Elder Gods you blindly serve? I will help Shinnok end their rule!"

Their fire and lightning struck each other, a brilliant blast of ecstatic beauty created from remorse and hatred. Liu Kang did a dragon kick, flying through the air. As he crossed the distance, Raiden called upon a lightning bolt and brought the thunder onto his former ally. The revenant was caught, and shocked, hovering in mid-air. Suddenly, another blast of lightning sent Liu Kang past the clouds. Looking to the sky, Raiden flew into the rain. He caught Liu Kang and slowly descended.

"I regret our paths have led here," Raiden said, laying down the revenant.

He turned to face Shinnok, but winced from the pain. The revenants had dealt a great blow, and Raiden hadn't fully rejuvenated from his strenuous journey.

He walked into the Jinsei chamber to see D'vorah, vomiting a hive-like substance onto Johnny Cage. He writhed, trying to escape the parasites. Shinnok, in the meanwhile, was walking up to the Jinsei, his hand entered it, corrupting it.

"You will not defile the Jinsei, Shinnok!" Raiden said, weak from his battles. Shinnok raised his hand nonchalantly, not even turning to the Thunder God, and a skeleton's fingers rose from the ground. It took hold of Raiden and crushed him in its grasp.

"We have battled for eons, Raiden. Now, finally it ends," Shinnok said, levitating and entering the Jinsei.

The aether grew orange as the top of the Sky Temple blasted open. The heavens grew red, but not like that of fire or passion.

Like that of hatred.

"No, Shinnok… even now… others come to defeat you," However, Raiden hadn't given up hope. He never did, and never would.

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

Jacqui was outside. The snow fell softly against the red sky; the crimson breaking through the bare treetops, their leaves having long since fallen. Takeda was with her while Kung Jin and Cassie were on the plane, uselessly prying apart the metal with whatever tools were in the craft.

She scanned the area, her devices told her that the temple was fifteen clicks north of where they were.

"A moonlight walk in the woods. Another time, it'd be relaxing," Takeda said, he always had a smile on his face. She liked that about him, no matter what happened, he was cheerful.

It made her happy too.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for outdoorsy," she said. At Viper's academy, wherever the man was now, he rarely left. Jin had told her that one night he had gone chasing after the saurian, and that he had come back happy. But besides that, he never commented on the beauty of Outworld's nature, what little of it there was anyway.

"My mother and I lived near a forest a lot like this. Really takes me back," He explained, smiling at the sky and branches.

"After we wrap this up, we should go," She said, a pinch of coyness in her voice.

He smiled, but before anything else could be said: "Fuck me…"

They turned to Cassie, having slammed a wrench on the wing of their vehicle.

"We're grounded. That shockwave fried the leads."

"Then let's get going. We're almost outta time," Jacqui said, half-expecting her friends to jump straight off of the aircraft.

A purple portal warped to life behind them. Kotal walked up, he wore a glowing yellow necklace. His tattoos had become blue, and he had his macuahuitl unsheathed. Ferra & Torr sauntered up beside him, covered in spiky metal armor. Next, was Ermac, hovering slightly off the ground, Jacqui had a score to settle with him. And then, there was Erron Black, he carried himself proudly, his revolvers weren't the only guns he brought, this time he had a rifle with him too. Beside Kotal's champions were his army, dressed like Osh-Tekk warriors.

"What are they doing here?" Takeda said, fear on his face.

"Looking for the amulet, I bet," Jacqui said.

"We have to tell them about Shinnok. Call a truce," He was right, of course. But Kotal wasn't one to listen. She could still remember his fight with Viper. The saurian had moved across the battlefield like a tiger that day, every moment he seemed ten steps ahead. But he wasn't here to help them now.

"Bring them to me!" Kotal yelled, his warriors screeching. They charged, their blades flashing in the crimson of the sky.

"Or not," Cassie said, her voice barely above the bloodthirsty warriors.

"The woods! C'mon!" Jacqui said, she knew they needed cover, fighting head on was a deathwish.

They hid behind trees, the army moving in between the rows of the giant trunks. They heard Ferra & Torr, making remarks of their guerilla tactics.

"Ermac," Kotal said. Jacqui prayed that the telepath wouldn't find them, and for once, it seemed the Elder Gods had heard her.

"We sense them. But these forests teem with souls," Ermac said.

There was silence for a number of seconds, broken by Cassie tossing a grenade that lit up the night sky. Kung Jin jumped from his cover and unloaded his arrows into anyone who was too close. Jacqui went next, blasting the hostiles with her gauntlets.

"Divine fire and earth!" Kotal cried, somewhere in the battlefield. But the fact that Jacqui was close enough to hear him was unnerving.

Takeda ran to her, his whips covered in blood, Ermac was on his tail. They ran as fast as they could, evading the magic. Eventually, Kotal cut them off, accompanied by his warriors.

"Lady's choice," Takeda said, never taking his eyes off of the threats.

"I've got Ermac." She was to settle a score, long in need of an update. Firing, Ermac dispelled the energy, and lifted her. He slammed her into a tree, and dropped her onto the forest ground. Coming down to her level, he said: "You are the spawn of Jackson Briggs."

"And damn proud of it. I know what you did to him," she bit back, recovering quickly and raising her fists.

"We took your father's arms," He, or rather, they said. No remorse was in 'their' voice. "We will take all of you."

She fired multiple pulses of energy from her gauntlets, but he flew into the air and either absorbed or dodged them. Lifting chunks of earth from the forest, he mercilessly brought them down on her.

She barely had time to roll out of the way.

Grasping his shin, she punched his leg. If he had felt anything, he didn't show it, merely continuing forward by blasting her with his soul magic. She felt a force slamming her on to the ground repeatedly. He tried lifting her into the air again, but she moved too fast.

She kicked him in the middle of his torso, but he recovered faster than she first thought. He flung himself around, still using his telekinesis, and kicked her. Stumbling backwards, she witnessed him tearing through the earth. Branches flew off the trees and fell onto the snow, almost seeming as if the world was breaking apart in front of her.

She would have to end things, and end it fast. She charged forward as the forest itself came crashing down, a tree came into her path, a boulder went flying right past her face. They fell to the snow, nearly turning her lower half into paste.

She used all the strength she had, and all the augments in the gauntlets to jump into the air and crush his arms in her grasp. They wouldn't explode or anything, but his control over the forest stopped. As they landed, she pounded her fist into his face, knocking him unconscious.

"That was for you, Dad," she said, satisfied. Turning, she saw the giant Torr descend from the few trees still left standing in that area. They were ambushing her. Ferra was with him, as she always was. The rider laughed, almost as innocent as a child, but with a bloodthirst behind it.

Torr swung his fists, barely slow enough for Jacqui to dodge them. Bringing his arms to the ground, he made a crater, once again, narrowly missing her. Quickly, he grabbed her waist, his fingers rough and too physically strong for any human, even her father with his metallic arms couldn't match him.

"Squeeze, squeeze, Torr!" Ferra chanted, laughing sadistically. "Your eyes, so bright. Gonna carve 'em out."

The blades sprung from Ferra's gloves, slowly prowling toward her face. Jacqui activated her gauntlets, the blast separating the three of them.

"Trickery! Deceit!" Ferra proclaimed, her brute stumbled backwards. Blasting more bolts of energy from her gauntlets, Torr frustratedly crashed his fists into the earth. Jacqui dodged and got far enough away that he was out of range.

"No more tricks," Jacqui said, catching her breath. "Just a straight-up beatdown."

She pounded her fist into Torr's chin, sending him flying back. He threw Ferra from her position. The rider had been dodged, but she crawled after her, leaping over to Jacqui. Ferra's blades swung and deflected off of her padded vest.

Jacqui grabbed the child and threw her into the tree trunk, but Torr ran over for more. He swung his arms, the last strike hitting its mark and flinging Jacqui away. She felt nothing at first, like she hadn't even been hit… but after a few seconds, pain exploded in her ribcage. Clumsily, but determined, Jacqui rose. Ferra rushed toward her, but she merely grabbed the child and tossed her once more into the woods. Next, she sent blasts of energy at the charging gorilla. Torr never slowed, but Jacqui threw a grenade at the roots of a tree. It came tumbling down, and while the brute may have caught it, Jacqui used the time to rush him. She pressed her gauntlet into his half-exposed face, and seared it. He fell over, smoke rising from his headpiece.

"Two for one. I'll take it," She said.

The squad regrouped, Takeda still fighting viciously with Kotal.

"We know D'vorah is here. Where is the amulet?"

"Kotal Kahn, the situation has changed," Takeda tried to explain, but the Emperor had made up his mind.

"Do not fling your spittle at me," He traded blows with Takeda before kicking him across the field. The Shirai Ryu was good, and recovered quickly. Lashing his whips, Takeda took to the Emperor's arm. Kotal merely grabbed and twisted it around his forearm, the built-in blades sheathed. He threw Takeda to the side and readied himself for more fighting.

"You tell him?" Jacqui said, running up to him.

"Not yet!" He sounded desperate, panting.

"He needs to know that-"

"Busy!" he said, Kotal glowering in the distance.

"I will kill you both," he started walking toward them.

"Shinnok's been freed. He's at Raiden's Sky Temple. He's already infected Earthrealm's life force," Jacqui tried to explain.

"The heavens boil… Earthrealm is lost!" he proclaimed.

"Not if we hang together!"

"I will appease Shinnok. Bring him your heads. Gain time to bolster Outworld's defenses." He reached for his macuahuitl and swung his blade next to Takeda's head. The young warrior ducked, but Kotal wasn't finished. He next swung at Jacqui, she barely blocked in time. He brought the blunt end of the weapon into Takeda twice. As fast as a stroke of lightning, the Emperor tripped the Shirai Ryu. Ferra & Torr cantered toward the field, grabbing Takeda.

Jacqui was alone.

Kotal punched Jacqui, and then kicked her. She shot him with the energy, but his yellow necklace absorbed it.

"You need to help us, Kotal Kahn!" She said, rising to her feet.

"It is too late for Earthrealm," He said in response. "Shinnok is now its master."

He swung his blade, hitting her gauntlets so many times she thought they would break. She tried to punch him, but he flicked her away as if she was nothing. He kicked her stomach, right where Torr and Ermac had struck her. She doubled over, and as she looked up, he uppercutted her. She fell onto her back, and spat out blood.

Standing up from Kotal's assault, Erron Black held his pistol to Jacqui's forehead. Cassie tried to use her gun, but she was out of bullets. Cursing, she dropped it. Ferra & Torr came back, throwing the beaten body of Takeda to the floor. Kung Jin reached for his quiver but found himself out of arrows.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm livin' the dream…" Jacqui said, wiping the blood from her mouth.

"You have odd dreams." Even then, Takeda could make her smile, even if it was only for a moment.

"Chattel. You die tonight," Kotal said, his voice deep with anger. "Nitah!" he commanded, but right as Erron Black was about to fire, an unseen force burned his hand, and ripped the gun out his fingers.

The previously unseen force had been a tongue, belonging to a man, a man in a flaring red cloak, a man with two blazingly beautiful amethyst eyes. Viper.

* * *

**2014 A.D. A Few Minutes Earlier…**

"Master Kuai Liang, I see we had similar ideas." The voice broke through darkness and silence.

Sub-Zero turned, a looming lizard emerging from the trees. At first, it seemed almost like Reptile, but when he saw the purple eyes, he knew it was Viper.

"Viper? It has been quite some time," Kuai Liang said. The saurian had been a valuable ally in many a battle.

"True, Grandmaster," he said, observing the cold forests with him.

"Did you come alone?" Sub-Zero asked.

"No, my students are in the forest, ready to fight. As for my personal companion, Reptile, he's with me." The other saurian, as if in response, appeared from out of the bushes.

"I noticed you weren't with Kotal," Sub-Zero said, surprised. He had never thought he'd be on the same side as Reptile.

"Any ideas, Kuai Liang?" Reptile said, his tongue slithering in his mouth.

"I planned on freezing one of Kotal's officers and sending my students after his army, once the battle inevitably calms. Truth is, it seems Cassie's squadron will be cornered soon."

"I see…" Viper's eyes told of his brewing mind. "So, when they're out of options, we call our students out of the forests, and drive Kotal back to Outworld? Clever, Kuai Liang."

They waited a few more moments, before they saw it. Kotal approached the small band of warriors.

He raised his hands like he raised his macuahuitl, looking at the four as if they were merely another head in a pillory.

With a single hand gesture, Viper was gone. The next thing Sub-Zero knew, he was on a tree branch, having stolen a gun from Erron Black. The gold metal melting from the acid in his mouth.

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

The ball of ice froze Torr as Viper jumped down to meet Kotal's army. Karanba lunged from the forest, his blades shining in the moonlight. He cut Erron across the chest and they fell further into the woods.

Another ball of ice flew at Ermac, and although he dodged it, Talula sent an arrow his way. They two of them fought the telepath together, their weapons and magic forcing him further into the forest.

Kotal raised his great macuahuitl into the air, dueling Reptile.

"Ko'atal!" Few still called him that name, and so, the Emperor knew… it was none other than Viper.

Zyvith threw Jade's glaive. It cut across Kotal's shoulder, the osh-tekk having reacted too slowly. Having hit its mark, it circled into the air, within seconds it would find its way back to the saurian. Viper pounced over to Kotal, slamming his tail into him and forcing him away from his friend.

"You won't touch him, knaive," Zyvith said, hissing at the Emperor.

"Ah… Viper," Kotal recovered, pressing his fingers into his cheek. "I had hoped throwing you into a tundra would've killed you."

"You think a great many things, unfortunately for you, rarely are they intelligent," Zyvith smiled, but also caught the glaive as it circled back to him.

He moved like a shadow, pouncing over to Kotal and raking his claw across the man's chest. Recoiling from the attack, Kotal swung his macuahuitl as a last defense. Zyvith jumped onto it, weighing it down, quickly, he hopped into the air and kicked the osh-tekk. Kotal fell backwards, but the saurian's tail caught the Emperor by the neck and ran him straight into another kick.

As they separated, Zyvith dropped to his back, and spun himself round. Fires danced to life on his feet, and he kicked them toward Kotal. Falling backwards, the Emperor was hit by the flames, but using the yellow stone around his neck, a stone enchanted with the magic of the sun, he summoned his power. He sent forth a great wheel of fire. Viper caught it in mid-air and threw it back at Kotal. Dodging it, the Khan turned into a panther. He lunged, but Zyvith caught him by the paws and threw him to the ground. Kotal swiftly shifted back into human form and channeled the sun. Seeing the attack coming, the saurian let go of his adversary and dodged, the rays melting the snow almost instantly.

Kotal created a second disk of flame, and threw it. Zyvith dodged over it, and got in close-quarters. He clawed at the Emperor, leaving him vulnerable. Standing on his hands, his foot kicking Kotal in the chest, his tail ripping the necklace off of his neck.

"There we are," Viper taunted him, holding the necklace in front of Kotal. It was a sunstone, and allowed the Khan to use his powers, even at night. "I'm going to beat you, and I'm going to do it without my powers."

"You, a mere snake would defeat me, powerless?"

"Kabal, a master of his trade ran from my blade, Nitara was defeated in mere seconds by my sword… I would do more than defeat you, I'd send you back home with the scars of a saurian's claws on your back!"

Kotal was solemn.

"Very well… face me, Viper," he said.

The kirehashi was unsheathed. The blade was like that of a dao, the hilt like a reptile's outstretched claw. The kirehashi met the macuahuitl. The great blade swung down onto the ground, almost as if to pound the saurian into dust, but he dodged and sent a shallow cut onto Kotal's chest. The Emperor recoiled and slammed the flat part of the weapon into Zyvith's side. The saurian recovered, and grappled with the Emperor. He cut Kotal, deeply this time, and whipped his tail into the osh-tekk's cheek.

The cries of the battle around them blared in their ears, and the snow that the combatants kicked up choked the air.

Their blades met, the clanging metal ringing through the forest. Viper was hit with the macuahuitl's pommel, his jaw erupting in pain. Still, he gave as good as he got, slashing into the already wounded spots of Kotal's chest. They struggled, with Zyvith biting his shoulder, and Kotal - who was unable to use his weapon - savagely pounding his fist into Viper's stomach. The Emperor managed to throw the saurian off of him, bloody but still able to fight.

They were back to square one, Kotal's fingers gripping tightly on his blade. It swung near Viper's throat, but he dodged and slammed the hilt of the kirehashi into Kotal's collar. The Emperor didn't relent, and rammed into Zyvith. He carried him across the field, running as fast as he could, but Viper slashed the kirehashi across Kotal's back, the blood coloring the snow red as they tumbled. His back gushing, the Emperor fell to his knees. The saurian kicked the osh-tekk in his jaw, pounced on the body, and bashed Kotal's face with the kirehashi's pommel. The Emperor punched Viper in his nose, having lost his weapon, and clumsily stood. Stumbling with every other step, the osh-tekk unsheathed his dagger and charged.

Zyvith parried, threw the blades to the side, and took the Emperor's arm into his claws, twisting it. Breaking Kotal's elbow, Viper whipped his tail into Kotal's midsection, and then kicked the back of his knee. As the osh-tekk recoiled, the saurian threw the man over his shoulder, and stabbed at him with Jade's glaive. It punctured Kotal's skin, only stopping the second time because the Khan managed to punch Viper. The Emperor pushed him off, holding his hands to the blood. His macuahuitl lay next to him in the snow, and he weakly picked it up. Zyvith found the kirehashi and sheathed his glaive, both were bloody from battle.

"You know, Kotal… I think we're more alike than either of us are comfortable with admitting," the saurian said.

"You and I are nothing alike," Kotal said, bitterly wiping the blood from his body.

"There is one major difference between us. Of that, you are correct." Zyvith sprinted, even without his super-speed, not a second had passed before he crossed the distance between them. He grabbed Kotal by the throat and bashed the pommel into his brow. The Emperor tried to make a fight of it, weakly pushing, but their bout was over. Reacting as quick as his namesake, Viper lashed his shin out. Slamming into Kotal's side, the saurian moved closer. He came upon the man, sheathing his kirehashi and pounding a flurry of fists into his already cut and bleeding chest. He brought the bottom of his palms onto the top of Kotal's head, and to send the Emperor to the floor one last time, he jumped into the air, twirling with the agility and precision of a monkey, and kicked the pads of his feet out. Ko'atal fell to all fours, blood leaking from his bruised body.

He could remember Shao Kahn's call in the koliseum. It rang true in his ears, the voice echoing in his head.

"_Finish Him!" _

Zyvith grabbed the sides of Kotal's face. As the fire lit from the tips of his fingers, he said one last thing: "The difference I spoke of, Ko'atal, was that of Shao Kahn. He told us both that killing in his name was correct. But when we realized how many families we had torn apart, how the blood we had drained would've filled the oceans… you kept listening." Flames danced to life as he spoke, and eventually they burst in Kotal's face. The shape circled back around, now a dragon. It shot into the sky, made of pure fire. The living inferno flew back to the earth, and slammed into them. It exploded into a firestorm, the only thing stopping everyone from being burned was Viper's control of the blaze.

As Zyvith stood, he looked at Ko'atal. It had been clear to see that his heart, despite his dislike of the man, had once been good. The saurian lifted the osh-tekk like he was his bride, carrying him for all to see. The soldiers turned, their eyes focusing on their Emperor. They scattered further into the woods, their screams echoing across the trees. Ermac landed, ready to fight the saurian, but Viper merely handed him the Emperor. After that, Sub-Zero found him, a bloody jian made of ice in his hand.

"It has been an honor, fighting by you, Kuai Liang."

"It has been an honor indeed, Viper."

After they watched Ermac float away, Kotal in his grasp, they continued.

"Come, it is time to find Cassandra's squadron." They went to the center of the woods, where they found the young earthrealmers standing relieved.

"You stood together against formidable odds. Lesser warriors would not have fared so well," Kuai Liang said.

"Thanks, Grandmaster," Cassie replied, eyeing the two of them. They stopped at Viper, a rule that applied to all of the earthrealmers. He smiled, knowing their wonder was at his face. They smiled as well, and turned back to Sub-Zero.

"I will remain here to push Kotal Kahn's forces back to Outworld. Proceed to the Sky Temple. Earthrealm's fate lies with you."

"I will go with them as well," Viper said. "I'll leave my students with you, Grandmaster."

Jacqui nudged his arm, and smiled as the four ran off. He was about to follow when Karanba and Reptile stopped him.

"You're going to fight Shinnok?" There was blood plastered to the tarkatan's arm.

"Yes, Karanba." The tarkatan had been small once, but now he was strong.

"He's an Elder God, Zyvith. Are you sure?" Reptile said.

"I don't fear gods, for I have fought them since the moment I hatched," he began again after a punctuated silence. "It would seem, that was something we have in common, my son."

He hugged him, pulling him closer than he had ever before.

"I love you, Karanba. And I'm proud, prouder than I've ever been. Proud to have seen you, all of you, grow. To have seen you all come from small children, to who you are now, fighting for the fate of a realm. And that's why, Karanba… that's why I'm not concerned for your future. Because I know that no matter what happens… you'll get through it, together."

"And you," he said to Syzoth. "You stood by me through every fight, every moment of joy… more than most should have. For that, I know you as not only my best friend, but my brother. You are a man that I'm proud to have known, proud to have loved, and proud to have called a companion. I have only one thing to ask of you: go out there, and show them what saurians can do."

They smiled at his words, their faces telling him that they knew, deep down in their hearts, that no matter what would happen… it would be ok. So he carried on, off to face Shinnok.

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

Time had stopped once he saw her. His mind scrambled to recall what had led to that moment… it took more than long. It felt like an eternity.

It had been raining, as it was now, when they were discovered. Sindel, Smoke, and Kitana were there. Jacqui had been trying to help Takeda.

Sindel was once a woman he had respect for. He could remember meeting her when Jerrod, her true husband and ruler of Edenia, still lived. How she had smiled… how she had laughed. There was once a time when he thought he'd never make someone laugh like she did… a time when he thought no-one would make him smile like that. She had suffered when Shao Kahn had taken her hand in marriage.

Kitana was his friend and he could remember meeting her. He had met her, indirectly, far before he had met Jade. But when he had met that woman, that woman with the laughing green eyes… Kitana had become much more personable. She was sweet, and kind… he was reminded of her every time he saw Mileena.

Smoke was a man he hadn't built a relationship with, at least, not one before their days of revenancy. He never let go of Sub-Zero, never failed to care for him. He smiled a bit, Smoke was loyal… a good man, even when his mind had turned to the madness of his alias: 'Enenra.' He was sad to fight him, and maybe in another life, they could've been friends, at least, for a reason other than vengeance.

A fight started, Kitana fought Kung Jin, and Cassie fought Sindel. Which left Smoke to Zyvith.

He teleported and kicked Viper, sending him hurtling back. Zyvith leaped from the ground and made whips of fire. They fell long and hard, slapping the ground, and reaping the places Smoke wished to teleport too. Coming in close, the revenant punched the saurian's chest. The blow had hurt, but Viper scratched the revenant and picked him up, throwing him into one of the columns. Smoke teleported a few seconds before impact, and sent a bomb toward the saurian. Viper reappeared in the air, and would've fallen hard onto his back, if not for his reflexes.

Catching himself, he touched the stone of the floor and ran. Grabbing Smoke's chest, he pushed him onto the ground, and before the revenant could teleport, picked him up by the knees. Tossing him over his back, Smoke pounded the ground. The Lin Kuei kicked himself out of the position, and stood a few feet away. He flipped and kicked once more, hitting Viper in the jaw. He stayed in the air as he teleported.

When they postured themselves again, Zyvith shot forth multiple fireballs. Smoke dodged them all, but when he had dodged the last one, Viper rammed him and jumped off the edge of the Sky Temple.

There were no screams as they fell, the saurian merely wrapped his tail about the revenant's ankle. Realizing their peril, Enenra begrudgingly teleported, and engaged in hand to hand combat on the pagoda's roof. He would punch and kick, until Viper had learned his pattern. The Lin Kuei were trained well, and Smoke had learned to be unpredictable. But alas, Zyvith caught him mid-move, and clawed him in the chest. As Enenra held his wound, Viper raked his face, and sent him limp to the ground. The saurian caught him before he fell, and found his way back to the fight.

Sindel had been defeated, as had Kitana. Takeda and Jacqui had been injured, and were being tended to by Cassie and Kung Jin.

The latter two had gone into the building, off to face Shinnok. Takeda and Jacqui were outside, injured and only barely able to fight. So, Zyvith had stayed with them. Liu Kang and Kung Lao had found them, later. They were undeniably good fighters, and even better together. But with Jacqui and Takeda's help, they were defeated.

He had noticed that **she** had been missing, his mind thinking of her every second. Especially after he had sat down the two earthrealmers. They were there, on one of the small benches when he saw her again.

Her voice came back to him, like cherry blossoms on the wind. He turned, and only then did it all come together. He was speechless… there she was.

"Zyvith," She said. "You've begun wearing your cloak… differently."

"Jade," He smiled. Instinctually, he felt his feet lift from the ground, but after a few seconds, he forced them back to the earth.

"I thought you would've been… angry, to have seen me again," She said, her eyes looking him up and down.

"Angry? No… never," His mouth hung open in a wide, toothy, and ever crooked smile.

"How long has it been?"

"Twenty years," He said, taking a few steps closer.

"You kept your ring, I see."

"And you your necklace, my love."

"Has anyone claimed your heart? Your bed?"

"No, and fewer have tried, I'm afraid."

"Well… I'm quite surprised, I thought that maybe someone would've..." Her staff was at her waist, unsummoned. "I felt Li Mei had been sweet on you, and you seemed to enjoy Nitara's company."

"You know, Jade… it's seldom, nay, never, that an hour passes without thoughts of you," he paused, but only for a second. He cared not for what the earthrealmers thought… he needed to talk to Jade. "I see you… everyday, but I can never touch your face… I can never run my hands through your hair… hear you speak my name… for it's only a shade of the woman I love," he said.

"I'm scared to sleep, because I know that you'll be there, in all of my dreams and nightmares. But when the sun enters my room… you'll never tell me I'm an idiot, or call me a crazy old reptile," he laughed.

"So yes, Jade... I'm happy to see you. You whose eyes made the moon look like crow-food…" His voice started faltering.

"What are you saying, Zyvith?" she asked.

"I'm saying that nine thousand and thirty five years ago, at the beginning of spring, I took an oath, a vow."

The rain fell onto his hood like it had in Zaterra.

"I said that I would always love you… that no matter what, you'd always be my mate… and I would always be yours, and I was so happy, so touched, when you said the same."

A single stroke of lightning, flashing defiant against the hateful sky, broke through the heavens.

"For twenty years, I've written letters to you, letters that no-one ever reads. Because some days… an hour won't suffice, and you're the only thing my mind cares to see, the only thing it cares to think of."

The thunder clapped as he stepped closer and closer. She remained as still as a statue, looking quite different from when he had last seen her. Her green clothes were spiked now, and she had a scarf as black as his plumage.

"I love you, Jade. Nothing will ever change that. So please, Jade… I'm begging you… don't go down that path. A path I went down."

One tear fell from her orange eye, joining the rain. They stood, seven feet apart, the bodies of their friends between them.

"I love you, too, Zyvith."

They both knew they had to fight - they _had _to - but first, they hugged. He pressed her head into his chest, drank in her all too distinguishable scent, touched her face and pulled her in for a kiss. Her mouth was sweet as it was all those years ago in Zaterra, her lips still as soft as they were in life. He grinned, a fool in his happiness. She pressed her hands into his face.

"You know… I'm… proud of you," she said. "Proud that you're here… proud that your face is... open."

"I couldn't have done it without you, Jade," he said.

"You have, many times over, my love," she responded, before teleporting away from him. She reappeared, a green mist a few feet away from him.

Her staff was out, what was once a purple, was now a sinister green. He had cried many stubborn tears, but even now, even when she was about to fight him, the only thing he found himself doing was smiling.

It took a few seconds for either of them to do anything, but she eventually threw her glaive. He dodged, and charged for her. When he got close, she swung her staff. Moving from its range, he contorted his body, and evaded the swirls of magic.

She pounded it into the ground, but he was too fast. Within seconds, he tripped her leg, but after she fell, she kicked his calf. She came upon him, her glaive having been in dagger form. Blocking it, he whipped his tail into her back and pounded his palm into her face. When she recovered, he joined her, standing in the rain. She threw out a fist, but he grabbed it, and snapped his elbow into her chest. Punching his jaw, Jade tried to escape, but he brought his snout back so fast it snapped at her nose. While still grabbing onto her, he brought his leg to her thigh and she fell onto her back. She channeled the energy in her staff and blasted them apart in a burst of green energy before he could capitalize. He shot flames at her, although they were smaller than the ones he typically used. A purple aura overtook her and she ran through them, but she also ran straight into his claws. Pressing them into her clothing, he pushed her away, jumped into the air, and kicked her in her collar. She recovered quite quickly, and swung her staff about her torso. He dodged the initial blow, but the waves of magic got him. She sent herself forward, a purple energy around her. Kicking him in the stomach, he recoiled, but grabbed her leg and thrusted his palm into her nose.

As she steadied, he jumped onto her, his legs wrapping around her neck. His tail took to her waist, and his hands pressed more weight into her. He suddenly brought his legs out and repositioned himself so that he was doing a hand-stand on her shoulders. He brought his talons to her midsection, and then jumped off of her.

He landed on the roof.

After a few seconds of recovery, she teleported after him. She swung her staff, the ends swiping by his face multiple times. The last strike landing right on his chin, she took her glaive out and tried to cut at his face. He flipped to the side, and kicked her in the shin. Side-stepping, she used the artificial claws on her hands. She went for his chest, but he stepped back and pressed his hands into her belly. He ignited his hands for a moment, and she recoiled. She threw her necklace, and what he saw nearly made his jaw drop.

It was him, only spectral and with a purple sheen to his appearance. It attacked him, the claws flinging wildly and mindlessly. Creating a wall of solid acid, he shattered it and sent the shards at the beast. They pierced its skin and made it dissipate, but Jade had vanished. He dodged the glaive, the weapon having been thrown through the air.

Her smell was too strong for her own good, though.

He knew she was coming behind him, even before he heard the rapid footsteps on the roof's tiles. He grabbed her foot with his tail, and when she took out her staff, he shot out his tongue. It slapped her forehead, and he pounced. Her staff was out of her reach, her glaive hadn't returned to her yet, her only remaining tools being her artificial claws. He grabbed her and tackled her to the floor. Not even a teleport would've saved her, for she was like her friend Kitana, and her enemy Mileena: they needed their weapons to do so.

He could've bitten her throat out, or clawed at her insides, or spat acid and fire at her face, but he didn't. Instead, he wrapped her in his arms. When he felt her do the same, he stood on the roof of the pagoda. She stayed in his arms, and he in hers.

… the rain was loud, but no strokes of thunder and lightning accompanied it.

They finally separated, and he saw tears falling from her eyes.

"I hate it when you cry," he said, wiping them away, and resting his hands on the sides of her face.

"I miss you, Zyvith… I-"

"It's ok… it'll be ok. I promise." He pointed at her necklace. "I'll always be with you," he said, as he pulled her back in.

They stayed like that for some time, although for how long he was unsure.

Later, when he finally let go of her, she found her weapons, and teleported, her body becoming a green mist. He jumped down from the roof, and looked into the red glow of the Sky Temple's pagoda.

"_It's time," _he thought.

As he walked through the hallway, he looked back one last time.

He saw Jade.

* * *

**22 A.M.K.**

Shinnok stood, although by appearance, one would have trouble knowing it was him. He had grown a few feet taller, and his skin had pulsed with orange veins, almost like living lava. He had hair white as bone, with two nether horns sticking from his head. His shoulders and the topside of his arms had been armored with what seemed to be molten rock. His back, and parts of his torso, had been cascaded by a similar substance. His amulet had fused into his lower body, and his legs had taken on the same form as his arms. A red swath of cloth protected his shame. Cassie was fighting him, D'vorah was unconscious, and Kung Jin was slumped over, bleeding from the shoulder. His gaze turned back to Cassie, she had a green aura on her, and sent the Elder God stumbling back from her punches. She was doing well, better than most, but Shinnok was far above a mortal. Viper took in the rest of the battlefield, Johnny was encased in a bug-like hive, and Raiden was crushed in a skeletal hand. Zyvith knew that in order to truly defeat Shinnok, the Jinsei needed to be purged, and so, the saurian pounced over to the skeletal hand and tore through the bones. Raiden's eyes opened slightly, and after a few moments of confusion and drowsiness, he almost smiled.

Zyvith freed the God, but he was still injured and barely able to walk. Viper supported him, carrying him to the Jinsei.

But Shinnok was no fool.

A blast of energy, so orange and white it almost looked like lava struck the saurian in the chest. He and Raiden were sent flying. Zyvith stood, but looked up to see the looming Elder God.

Cassie wrapped her arms about Shinnok's neck and tried wrestling him away, but he was taller than Kintaro himself, and twice as strong. He barely budged. To help the young earthrealmer, Zyvith unsheathed his kirehashi and rammed it into Shinnok's head. Pushing the blade further in, he ushered Cassie to take Raiden. Viper threw a dagger of liquid acid at Shinnok, the vitriol splashing against his face. Nonchalantly, Shinnok ripped the kirehashi from his head. Turning, the Fallen Elder God sent more blasts of nether at the saurian. Viper dodged as best he could, and retaliated with his own magic, but Shinnok knew where his attention needed to be and sprinted for Cassie right as she took Raiden into her arms. Unsheathing Jade's glaive, Zyvith rushed him. Thrusting his blade into the Elder God's chest, Viper flipped himself, and kicked his talons into Shinnok's chin. The saurian then pulled the glaive out and stabbed, every time the dagger entered, spews of orange and white blood would leave his body. But eventually, Shinnok picked him up, choking him. His grasp tightened further, but the saurian struggled, his tail reaching into a small pouch on his waist. Inside of it was the teleportation device, activating it, he was enveloped in pitch black shadows. He had narrowly escaped the deathly grasp.

Shinnok had been defeated in battle twice. Once by Raiden, Fujin, Kojin, Sujin, Jijin, and the Elder Gods. The next, Johnny Cage had to hold him off, and finally, the Thunder god had imprisoned him.

"_He's barely felt a thing," _Zyvith realized.

Shinnok sprinted over to the saurian, who unleashed waves of magic from Jade's staff. They hit the Elder God, but barely slowed him. Glancing to his right, Zyvith realized that Cassie had nearly put Raiden into the Jinsei.

Sprinting, Viper channeled the fires. They flared from his scales as he jumped onto the Elder God. For a moment, they were enveloped in flames so hot they burned the sun and hell, but Zyvith knew, Shinnok would only be injured.

The Elder God shook himself free from the inferno, and saw Cassie put Raiden into the Jinsei. Earthrealm was saved…

But in his anger, he lifted Viper, the devilish hands grabbing at his face. Lifting him, the saurian wriggled, trying to wrestle himself free. His talons raked onto Shinnok's arms, but if he had cut any of the flesh, nothing happened. The monstrous hands pressed into Zyvith's eyes, and ignited with the nether magic. It burned so hot that not even Viper's powers could stop it. The Fallen Elder God, who had made Lucifer swear fealty, stabbed the saurian with a nodachi made of bones and drove the blade into the ground.

"How dare you… you horrendous, arrogant, foolish, snake!"

But then the Jinsei's orange glow turned to a blue.

Shinnok was forced backward, as if some unseen hand had taken control of him. His amulet pulsed and sent him crashing to the ground like he had been stomped on by a giant. In all his life, the pain Zyvith felt had but one equal.

He was about to faint, his left eye, the one Shinnok had burned, was blind. The blade had pierced him true, and although his scales would stop the bleeding, he hadn't the slightest idea if it had struck an organ. As he took the nodachi out of his midsection, the last thing he heard was the sound of rushing boots. Then his vision went black.

* * *

**2014 A.D.**

They woke him to care for his eye. He was about to let them, but then he suddenly screamed: "No!"

His vision was still blinded. But he didn't want their care, at least, not yet. For through it, he could see **her**. Jade.

He could see her turn to him, and smile. He could see her pulling him in for a kiss, her face pressed into his chest. He could see her sleeping, her cheek on his body. He could see her taking off his hood. He could see it all.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life, however long it was, with her. He didn't know or care how fast edenians aged, for even if she had grown old and wrinkled and grey-haired and blind; even then, she would've been the most beautiful woman in all the realms.

She would always be a part of him. Always.

He wanted to kiss her, to feel her, to love her, to see her, to look her in the eyes.

**He had wanted more time, he had always wanted more time.**

He may not have gotten it, but it was ok. Those few minutes out there, in the storm of the Sky Temple… they were enough

After a few seconds, he parted his hands and let them heal his vision. As his left eye returned, albeit myopic and struggling to stay open, he allowed himself to cry, one last time. From when Jade and he had first parted in that Zaterran spring, to when she died in his arms, to when he had found her old things, to when he was stuck in the icy tundra, to now.

"Viper?" a concerned Sonya and Cassie asked.

"I got to see Jade again," he explained, standing. His rising was slow, his shoulders slumped for a bit, but he started walking again. He saw Kung Jin tending to Raiden, Johnny being freed from his hive-like prison. He walked out of the pagoda and saw Jacqui and Takeda.

He gazed at the sky… he could already feel the sun on his face.

* * *

**22 A.M.K., Weeks Later...**

He looked in the mirror, his eye was silver and glowing ever so slightly. He wasn't sure if it would ever be purple again, but his vision had been restored. Sometimes he'd have to lick it, for it was much drier than his other eye. Hopefully he would be able to stop the extensive - and required - care, but he was grateful to have gotten out with his life. After all, only a few weeks ago, he had been impaled by a nodachi.

He walked out of his room, and into the library. Nitara had decided to stay, at least until her leg had been better. Reptile was there too, sitting at a desk, reading something in saurian. He greeted them, and they responded, but both were busy.

Karanba was just outside, training some of the novices in archery.

The smell of coming rain was heavy, hanging like a thick blanket over the skies.

Zyvith walked further, eventually finding himself in one of the towers. He ascended it, and looked outward. There was a patch of vegetation, somewhere further east, where he was born a million and twenty-two years ago.

For today, was his birthday.

It was there that his father had held him, newly hatched. It was there that Jade had first seen his face… he smiled, nostalgia coloring his mind.

"_Maybe I'll go there today," _he thought to himself, climbing out of the tower. Pouncing from the stone, he landed on the dirt of the roads. As he rolled and stood, he took off, and for the first time in spring, with the rain lovingly biting the earth, the swamps would begin to glow.

* * *

_A/N: I gotta say. Writing all of this was hard, and like I said in the first author's note, it wouldn't have been possible without any of you. To those that reviewed, those that followed or favorited, and those that simply tuned in to read._

_I simply must say, one last time in this story, thank you._

_As for sequels? I might write one for MK11... we'll just have to see._

_Sincerely, The Swampian_


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